petrol on the mind

Of course the oil spill in the Gulf has been on my mind. Unfortunately the helplessness to really aid in the effort to stop it is overwhelming. Perhaps if I was a brilliant engineer or scientist...but alas, I am only an artist so must use the tools available to at least express because my paintings can't plug the holes leaking oil.

The art these days has swayed from darker to lighter—between the anger and the acknowledgement of beauty of the species threatened now and in the future. (Suppose we are one of the threatened on the list!)

Things need to change but I fear our appetite is a pathological monster with no stomach stapling in sight.

So, I'll keep reading about issues and painting...AND try to be a responsible consumer.
BTW, speaking of consumption, the fish you see in these paintings are Bluefin Tuna—they were way OVERFISHED, their population numbers down 80 %, and the Gulf is 1 of the 2 major spawning waters. They are not on the endangered list, perhaps because of, again, the APPETITE, this time sushi lovers. Make a choice as a consumer to stop eating this beautiful fish!
Read an article about it:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/us/24fish.html

http://www.bigmarinefish.com/bluefin.html