In the late 1980s, I created a series of large paintings of shamanistic figures paired with coral reef fish as sort of a busman's holiday, just because it was fun to paint the fish. The series sold out quickly and I have returned to the subject several times over the last thirty years. Digital tools allow me to experiment much more freely, and I have been able to discover many new approaches to the concept. This one just begged for the use of violets and blues and has become one of my personal favorites because it is unassuming yet ripe with portent. The title reminds us that the Earth is a living thing and was chosen because the Sonoran desert of southern Arizona in which I live was once the bed of a shallow ocean.
