Harbour Seals and Coho in Kelp
68 cm
This buoy found washed up on Hurst Island, near the northern tip of Vancouver Island, it was likely used in a salmon or herring fishery. The foam floats were found by a beach comber washed up on a beach on Hornby Island. The line it hangs from was donated to me by a halibut fisherman and was once used as buoy line in the fishery. I have lashed the bottom in waxed sailing twine.
On it I have painted a couple of shy harbour seals. This marine mammal can be seen from shore sometimes sunbathing on rocks and bobbing about with only their heads visible in the Ocean. These wonderful animals keep warm in the chilly North Pacific waters with a thick layer of blubber that comes from eating lots of fish, shellfish and crabs. They can sleep underwater and can hold their breath for 30 minutes. They use their long whiskers to sense their prey and are very effective predators. They can very shy creatures, when not accustomed to humans, and a diver is lucky if one of them comes to check them out briefly before darting away through the kelp forest on secret seal business. A coho salmon shares the bull kelp forest with them and white plumose anemones and green surf anemones grow along the bottom with ochre and vermillion sea stars.
Thank you for supporting the creation of art from waste, 10% of the purchase price of this piece of art will be donated in your name to the Ucluelet Aquarium’s Marine Debris Initiative.