Thursday, January 31, 2008

Just a photo today


OK! What do we have here? An Anenome. (a-NEN-o-mee) And some other critters, also. There's a nearly clear, whitish little fish in front of the Anenome perched on the sand, a Bridled Goby. You almost can't see them until they dart for cover.

If you look closely, with a lot of imagination, you can spot the Squat Anenome Shrimp. They're real cuties, especially the way they dance around wagging their tails. I don't have a camera that's good enough to get decent photos of these shrimp, phooey! When a huge, noisy, bubble blowing diver comes close, they run and hide down amongst the Anenome's tentacles.

Fish! Everyone always swims around looking for fish. I guess because they move. These blurry two are Bicolor Damselfish. Below them is a Feather Duster, or Fan Worm. Worm? Ick! But, no, these creatures are really beautiful. They are all sorts of sizes, up to the palm of your hand, and every color. The part you're seeing here is their crown of feather-like radioles, which act both as gills and for capturing their food, plankton, microscopic plants and animals that drift in the sea.

The Fan/Feather Dusters can feel a diver's approach, and when they decide you're a threat, they instantly retract their fans down into the tubes they build to live in.

Up in the left corner is some Great Star coral. They don't usually have their tentacles out searching for passing food during the daytime. What a life! Food just drifts by, and you grab a bite and stuff it in your mouth! Sleep all day, eat all night. There's some more Great Star under the Damselfish.

I hope the other coral, sort of yellow colored, under the fish, isn't feeling left out, it's a young Massive Starlet Coral. They can grow to be quite big, five or six feet across. That's almost two meters.

Now, to paint this little bit of reef scenery, I'll have to import something reddish to put near the center. That's a good trick to hold a picture's composition together. I have several books of Winslow Homer's work. Almost all of his paintings have a touch of warmpth near the center. I really love his paintings! And we have the same birthday!

OK, all for now. My studio is being rearranged and upgraded. And I don't seem to be the only artist who was thrown off course during December and January. I'm developing a plan, and will be charging along painting every day before long. Yes.

Thanks for stopping by!

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