Original Animal Drawing, “Tropical Fish”, ink on paper, 8 x 12”, 2021

When I was growing up, one of the events I most anticipated, maybe ever, in my young life was to turn 12 so I could become a certified SCUBA diver, like my parents were.  With 12 as the minimum age to dive, I was counting the days, typically only allowed to snorkel, to float on the surface of the ocean, breathing air through my small tube, as opposed to being fitted with oxygen tanks, a weighted vest, wetsuit and goggles, and descending to where the rarer fish could be found.  Hawaii was a frequent (and at that time, cheap!) Family vacation, and I studied the hand-drawn fish identification cards to obsession, and drew fish I’d seen from photos and memory.

This sketch of various tropical fish was made at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, from life, observing many of the same species I once dove with in Hawaii.  The fish in this drawing were usually making laps of their tank, coming back to the same poses over and over.  Each drawing was made from multiple rounds of observation of the same fish or the same species.  The Unicornfish (you can spot which one) is a favorite of mine, and has a strangely expressive face, human-like.

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