A one off, large original watercolour painting of an Oceanic White Tip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus), escorted by a school of pilotfish.

Painting Details:
Price: $1100 (postage included).
Size: 100cm x 50cm
Medium: Watercolour on cold-pressed 300gsm watercolour paper
Framing: I believe framing is a very personal choice, and therefore do not frame my paintings, leaving it up to the buyer to choose the right frame for them and their home. Your painting will come signed, rolled in a tube  and with a letter of authenticity. Professional framing is recommended in which it is best to keep the painting in the tube and allow the professionals to remove from packaging and frame. If however you wish to frame the painting yourself or view the painting before hand, simply unroll the paper gently and weigh down the corners of the artwork and allow to flatten.

What inspired me to paint an oceanic white tip?
I have always had a great fascination for all sharks, but I find there is something so beautiful & majestic about the oceanic white tip. They seemingly cruise the ocean with such grace, and I love that they often are accompanied by flickering schools of black and white striped pilot fish. The mutualistic relationship between these sharks and fish to me appear symbolic of the important roles of sharks as ‘care-takers’ of our oceans; helping protect and keep everything in balance. Rather than portraying them as hungry, killing machines that we know the media just loveee to do, we see them living in harmony in a beneficial relationship with these little fish.

Like so many of our shark species, Oceanic White Tips are listed as a critically endangered species. In 2014 IUCN reported 24 species of sharks as critically endangered globally…today that number has climbed to 68!
I hope that by painting these beauties I can bring awareness to this huge issue, perhaps maybe even inspire the same fascination and appreciation that I have for these sharks in others.

This piece was inspired by the beautiful underwater photography of Philip Hamilton. I referenced various photos of Philip’s of these gorgeous sharks; combining different elements from each photo to put together my favourite body angles, colours, skin & scarring details and pilot fish positions to create my final painting. You can view Philip’s photography at www.philiphamilton.com