Why paintings of whales?

I grew up spending my summers on Cape Cod, and was always interested in marine life. However, the first time I went on a whale watch was in college - my mother had an irrational fear of the whales tipping the boat over, which she has since been cured of! That whale watch was an influential experience for me. It reinforced for me that I should spend my life working to educate others about the beauty of nature. Teaching marine science was one of the most rewarding work experiences I have ever had, and I paint whales now in an effort to continue to educate people about these magnificent animals. The paintings I do are based off of pictures I have taken on whale watches. I prefer to paint them this way - the way they are most frequently seen by people. The majority of the whale's body is hidden, and we can only imagine what they are seeing beneath the waves.

And whales are just BEAUTIFUL! If you ever have the opportunity to go on a whale watch please do! It is so amazing to see these giant animals feeding and socializing with one another.

It is vital that we do what we can do help whales as their populations are still recovering from the heyday of whaling. They are vitally important to ocean ecosystems, even their carcasses have a big impact on other organisms. When a whale dies it sinks, this is called a whale fall. The body of the whale provides nutrients to other organisms, sometimes for years. Learn more about whale falls in the NOAA article What is a whale fall?