Green Turtle Story
Diving into the story of my green turtle painting, with a walk through of what inspired it and a timelapse of the painting process.
Today I'm spotlighting my Turtle painting, based on a green turtle from the Flynn Reef in Australia, discovered on a dive by friends of mine.
Did you know? Green turtles get their name from the greenish colour of their cartilage and fat, not their shells.
He is my first painting of an ocean creature and my eyes were taken on an extraordinary journey into this underwater world of colours & textures.
Green turtles are on the endangered species list. Along with the dangers of fishing nets, their eggs are overharvested, adults are hunted for their parts and as a source of food, and they are gradually losing their beach nesting sites.
I hope that in some way, celebrating the beauty of these turtles through art, will help raise awareness of their plight!
SHOP
This turtle is available as a print (in a range of sizes + framed finishes) & a greeting card.
Click button to view buying options
Come take a look at him in Putney Library, where he features as a print, card and clock!
My exhibition at Putney Library ends next week (Friday 15th). For all exhibition details click the button below.
World Turtle Day
Today I take you on a deep dive into the oceans exploring the story of this Green Turtle and the threatened world in which he lives.
Today is World Turtle Day and I wanted to celebrate it for several reasons.
First I had access to a wonderful photograph taken by two wonderful friends of mine, on a dive they did in Flynn Reef (The Great Barrier Reef), Australia.
It is the first time I have ever attempted to paint an ocean creature, let alone a turtle and I was really curious to take my eyes on a journey into this underwater world of colours and textures.
I also recently watched a powerful documentary called Seaspiracy which completely threw open the door to the devastating impact that Industrial fishing is having on our oceans and the wildlife within them, turtles being one of many species affected.
Recent stats show that 500,000 sea turtles are caught each year as bycatch (unintended catch).
This fella here is a Green Turtle and on the endangered species list. Along with the dangers of fishing nets, their eggs are overharvested, adults are hunted for their parts and as a source of food, and they are gradually losing their beach nesting sites.
Painting this turtle gave me 9 hours to truly study this extraordinary animal who was anything but just green. The complex mix of colours I discovered were out of this world. And I have just learned that green turtles get their name from the greenish colour of their cartilage and fat, not their shells, which makes sense!
I invite you to have a look at the sped up timelapse below, which condenses this 9 hour voyage into just under 9 minutes. I hope it will give you something of the experience I enjoyed in painting this picture.
If you haven’t done so already, I really urge you to watch Seaspiracy (on Netflix) and think about the way we can all help to counteract the powerful and sinister forces of industrialised fishing.