One of the greatest accomplishments and milestones, as an artist, is finishing your first ever mural. I was commissioned to come down to Penn Cove, WA and paint a piece of Tokitae that would send a message. Many years ago, in 1970, 80 whales were rounded up in Penn Cove. 7 of these whales would be taken for a life of captivity, Tokitae included. 5 orcas would drown in the capture process and their bodies would be cut open and filled with rocks so as to sink them. Their bodies were secretly disposed of to prevent them being added to the tally of whales caught during this process. Throughout the years, each orca taken from the captured died a premature death. None reaching their average life expectancy. All except for one: Tokitae. Despite some of the most deplorable conditions known to man and orca captivity history, Tokitae managed to outlive her kin. She has been surviving in what is known as “The Whale Bowl” in Miami Seaquarium. This tank is falling apart, doesn’t keep up to code, and is slowly turning into Tokitae’s tomb. It is hoped that the Dolphin Company, Florida officials, and veterinarian staff will do the right thing and bring Tokitae home to the Puget Sound. Let her live the rest of her days in a seapen, retired from entertainment and a lifetime of mistreatment.
If you’d like to visit this mural, go to Scenic Heights on Whidbey Island. Follow the road and look for the house with orcas!
For the marine prompt, it's all the way to the end of this selected playlist with Just The Zoo of Us episode no. 31, featuring animal pair up of the Sudan Plated Lizard and the Orca.
With its impressive armored appearance, lightened tawny to dark brown colors, and hind pelvic fins, the Plated Orca has a very distinct appearance from its unarmored cousin.
Though a rather elusive creature, it is known to roam in all the oceans of the world, making it quite a world traveling marine creature.
Color Vision:
While I have not colored this creature (yet), I envision their coloring has the white patches of the orca, but the sandier shades of the Sudan Plated Lizard on the rest of their scaled body.
Side note: To learn more about the inspiration behind this series, please check out the captions in any of my first three hybrid animals from this month!
We're in the thrall of Gladis and her little terrors! Whether you believe they're annoyed at yachts because they want to play in the jetstreams of motorboat engines, or you believe they're taking back the ocean and nature is winning—we can probably all agree that the noble orca makes for excellent art. Luckily, your local Artists on Tumblr agree.
Holy shit I finally finished it! The interconnectivity of the British Columbian marine ecosystem is one of my favourite things in the world, so here are a few treasured icons.