For a bit of context, the movie Shrek is based on the picture book Shrek! by William Steig. It tells the story of a delightfully ugly and horrible ogre Shrek who meets an uglier and horribler ogress. They get married and continue being ugly and horrible together. Here are my favorite pages: (2/10)

I’ve been seeing a lot of herring jumping lately. I’m never quick enough to capture photos of them in the air, but there’s something amazing to me about how much light these little fish can catch.

The chum salmon was my absolute favorite of this batch. Its colors were so fun! Chum are the last salmon to spawn of the year, and last November I got to watch them spawning in a creek near Seattle.

#chumsalmon #scientificillustration #salmon

Almost forgot I was uploading these. Oops.

Anyway, here’s the pink salmon, the smallest of the PNW species. Pink salmon only take two years to mature, and in Puget Sound we actually only see pink salmon runs on odd numbered years. I’m looking forward to seeing them this year!

Coho are one of larger salmon species but can be differentiated from chinook by their spots. Coho salmon have small spots on the upper portion of their tail fins while chinook have spots on their whole tail.

omg I have a Minke too!

Last fall, I decided to paint all five of the salmon species native to the Puget Sound in order to learn how to better ID them. The sockeye salmon is probably the most recognizable species in spawning colors. In its saltwater form it can be identified by its lack of distinct spots.

Orcas are one of many species that display same-sex sexual behaviors. These behaviors are often seen between adolescent males, but are definitely not exclusive to them—which is why I decided not to base this illustration on any specific individual.

#natureisqueer #queerart #orca #pride

Last year I was commissioned to illustrate a field guide for whale watches in the Bay of Fundy and an accompanying coloring book. It was an interesting challenge to create lineart and color versions of illustrations! The great blue heron was one of my favorites.

This painting was commissioned by a stranger. It is also deeply personal to me.

Mount Desert Rock is one of the most remote lighthouses in the US. Located 25 miles off the coast of Maine, it stands on a 3 acre island where the largest piece of greenery is a rose bush. (1/5)

Sending some love to my trans siblings today!

This individual is K20 “Spock,” a Southern Resident killer whale. Researchers initially believed her to be male because her tall, straight dorsal fin and large pectoral fins are characteristic of male killer whales. (1/3)

One of my favorite pieces from the last year: a California sea lion decomposing on a public beach. See replies for my original caption! (1/6)

My profile picture is a portrait I painted last September of L128, the newest member (at the time) of the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whale population. L128 did not live more than about a month. Since then, two more calves have been born to the SRKWs, and one of those has passed.

Hey y’all! Just another queer artist looking for somewhere to share my art that isn’t Meta. Here are some of my favorite pieces from the last year! If you want to see marine wildlife art, learn about conservation, and maybe read my impassioned ramblings, give me a follow!