FISHES OF AMAZONIA

The Amazon is home to a vast array of creatures above and below the river’s surface; the diversity of fishes alone rivals that of any ocean, with over three thousand known species- and scientists are finding more species every year. I painted this seven-by-fifteen-foot-long mural over the course of nine months in 1999-2000, filling it with pink dolphins, a manatee, a curious squirrel monkey, a large black caiman, an anaconda, and a paradisiacal host of fishes. Brad Matsen and I can be seen on the back deck of the boat. I have a fishing rod in my hand and am wearing a life jacket, revealing my cowardly tendency to panic in dangerous situations. Brad is standing fearlessly with an Antarctica beer in his hand. The original painting is in the Miami Museum of Science’s traveling exhibit called ‘Amazon Voyage: Vicious Fishes and Other Riches.’ The 22 x 48 inch print of this mural is killer!