This piece was part of the Drawing Room SF’s SEA show from 3 Dec 2022 - 15 January 2023.
Each Winter at the Año Nuevo seaside, one of the most magnificent animal migration events takes place: the Northern Elephant Seals return for mating and birthing season. Thousands of elephant seals cover the beach and frolic in the sea. A loud chorus of bellows and grunts provides the backdrop to a show of bull males combating for their right to stay and the affection of females. It is an experience that I will never forget.
Nor will I forget their history. By the end of the 1800s, only 50-100 elephant seals were left, after being hunted for their blubber. I think of the terror they had been through, seeing their kin slaughered as they reached the brink of extinction. The seals were subsequently granted protected status and their population recovered. It seems almost poetic that, after their exploited experience following the Spanish colonization, these seals have colonized the beach and island at Año Nuevo State Park.
The use of mixed media in this acrylic painting brings forth a texture that honors the elephant seal hair and outer skin layers that molt, and to the sand-storms that rise during their fights.
12 x 12 inches (Framed dimensions 13x13x1.5 inches). Acrylic and collage media on wood panel.
This piece was part of the Drawing Room SF’s SEA show from 3 Dec 2022 - 15 January 2023.
Each Winter at the Año Nuevo seaside, one of the most magnificent animal migration events takes place: the Northern Elephant Seals return for mating and birthing season. Thousands of elephant seals cover the beach and frolic in the sea. A loud chorus of bellows and grunts provides the backdrop to a show of bull males combating for their right to stay and the affection of females. It is an experience that I will never forget.
Nor will I forget their history. By the end of the 1800s, only 50-100 elephant seals were left, after being hunted for their blubber. I think of the terror they had been through, seeing their kin slaughered as they reached the brink of extinction. The seals were subsequently granted protected status and their population recovered. It seems almost poetic that, after their exploited experience following the Spanish colonization, these seals have colonized the beach and island at Año Nuevo State Park.
The use of mixed media in this acrylic painting brings forth a texture that honors the elephant seal hair and outer skin layers that molt, and to the sand-storms that rise during their fights.
12 x 12 inches (Framed dimensions 13x13x1.5 inches). Acrylic and collage media on wood panel.