The story behind the artwork

This is a portrait of a Dorid Nudibranch, specifically Hypselodoris iacula. He/she is folded over itself as if taking a bow. These brilliantly colored sea slugs have been largely inspirational for me as an artist. When I first began to see them while diving, I felt as if I was seeing something from my imagination come to life. My favorite muse.

Often, when someone sees a nudibranch for the first time, they sometimes have a hard time describing what they see... "Like a psychedelic bull of the ocean with a fern on its arse." (I paraphrase this, because I didn't write it, but it is funny).

When I first saw one, it was like falling in love. I was mesmerized by its slow and fluid movements, completely oblivious to all the obvious threats around it. So vulnerable and delicate, and so incredibly beautiful. They are miniature and relatively sightless creatures that sense their world around them in ways I can only imagine. They have only eyespots which are more like primitive pigmented sensory organs and not even close to what one might consider eyes. They seem alien to everything I know about our world and this is why I find them magical and mysterious. There is also an innocence about them, though as I've been reading more about them, this is only my perception and not reality. But as I watched one lose it's hold on a piece of branch coral and patiently drift in the current, it seemed to represent the meaning of faith to me. It didn't flail in a panic, but gently moved until it landed once again on another piece of coral. This is how I feel when I'm painting. I am drawing from unexplainable senses deep inside, and even when I'm not sure where a piece is going, I know eventually I'll land somewhere.

This painting in particular didn't turn out exactly as I planned. The purple spots on the "face" were never meant to be seen as eyes. In fact, the eyespots of this animal are not even present. The purple is only a coloration in the animals flesh and part of its brilliant color scheme. But I like that there are two spots and it makes the viewer believe they are supposed to be eyes. We want animals and people for that matter to see. We want to think of things as needing and appreciating vision. In fact, these animals have some of the most beautiful color patterns on their bodies and cannot even enjoy it! What we value in their appearance has nothing to do with their own sense of themselves. It's a puzzling thought for a visual artist. Especially one who finds such inspiration in their soft forms and incredible colors. It is their extraordinary colors that enable them to continue their slow moving armor-free existence. Some have patterns of color that have evolved into perfect camouflage, while others present a warning coloration to would-be predators. Their ignorance of being visual masterpieces only endears them to me more.

To learn more about these bizarre and incredible animals, I recommend David Behrens' Book "Nudibranch Behavior." It is fascinating and the photos are out of this world! There's a lot still unknown about these creatures. Currently one species is being studied by scientists who are interested in finding a cure for human afflictions such as Alzheimer's Disease.

muse
acrylic on canvas
24x24"

Additional Links:

"Nudibranch Behavior," by Dave Behrens

Excellent photos of nudibranchs by Jeffery N. Jeffords. (exits my site)