Damselfish in Distress

This painting captures the moment I witnessed an altercation between an octopus and damselfish while scuba diving at the Alice in Wonderland reef in Bonaire. I froze and immediately sketched the scene: the octopus gripped a conch and swatted at the inky damselfish trying to re-enter the shell. High drama on the high seas!

All of my aquatic art begins as a sketch made underwater while I scuba dive. Upon the conclusion of the dive, I bring my sketches to the surface and paint the scenes which unfolded on the reef.

This work is custom framed under UV-filtering glass.

Medium: Gouache, Watercolor and Ink on Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper

Size (LxHxW): 16 5/16” x 17” x 7/8”