Manta Ray II Painting

Details: - Created on a sturdy, 1.5" deep gallery wrapped canvas, on a wood, cross braced frame - Sides painted white - Hanging hardware installed/ready to hang - Signed on front, signed/dated/titled on back About this piece: I haven't painted many underwater subjects in my career. Mostly because there's such stunning underwater photography out there, that it's just not something I feel I can improve upon in most cases. But after a few friends told me their stories of scuba diving with mantas, I was both inspired to put that activity squarely on my bucket list, and attempt to capture their grace in paint in the meantime. One of the things I discovered during my research before painting this piece is that the wingspan of one of the larger varieties of rays can reach up to 23 feet wide. I can only imagine how incredibly moving and surreal it might be to witness a whole flock ( technically a "squadron") of these creatures swimming overhead. I believe that this is only my fourth underwater scene in about 25 years. And have to say the manta had a soothing effect on me while I was working on him. And it's my hope that the viewer has the same experience.