New painting! "Waiting for Salmon"

"Waiting for Salmon" 36in x 26in Oil on Canvass   Every year in Alaska, starting around spring, salmon begin their journey up stream to spawn.  They bring nutrients from the ocean  through the web of streams etched into Alaska's coast, and into the mainland.  There, they are the source of fat and protein for countless predators like bears, wolves, otters, seals, and eagles.  Then, their bodies decompose, leaving minerals to soak the soil and seep through the watershed dispersing nutrients and sustaining the Alaska wilderness.   In essence, Alaska is a salmon-based ecosystem. And even though their presence is known, the weight of their influence can still slip by unnoticed or under appreciated.  But, this year, the danger of a salmon-less Alaska sat bold and ugly right in our faces. The La Niña weather system of 2010-2011 cooled the ocean and caused this years salmon run to be months later than usual.  Bears paced along the shoreline day after day and slowly began losing muscle mass.  Eagles sat in trees, searching for movement downstream.  Some predators went to find food elsewhere, like clams and crabs that are way less fatty and less abundant, but most waited.  Alaska sat tense and still, waiting for salmon. After a couple months, the salmon finally came.  Predators scarfed them down, salmon decomposed, minerals dispersed, and local people fished and ate.  Whew, close one. Here's Richard Nelson talking about salmon…he really, really loves salmon.  Of course, currently, Pebble Partnership is proposing to build North America's largest mine (possibly 150 square miles) right near a major salmon breeding ground.  They expect to find 80 billion pounds of copper, plus 100 million pounds of gold, adding up to roughly $800 billion dollars in minerals. Yes, the mine would be massive, but the multiple tailing dams built to hold the leftover toxic mining waste is of almost greater concern.  Since there is no method of disposing of the waste, it would sit forever, needing constant surveillance to prevent any leak which would destroy the water system.  Tailing dams fail at a rate of about 2 per year, and the threat of a spill is heightened in an earthquake zone like Bristol Bay. Pebble says they're producing the best science for the project.  That the toxic waste will be forever contained and that there is zero risk to the watershed and surrounding environment.  But local fisherman and tribes have called on the EPA to investigate and potentially stop Pebble, which has led to a division within Alaska, politically and socially. The New York Times does a great outline of the debate and the tension arising in Alaska: I didn't want to create an in-your-face political statement painting.  I wanted to show the beauty of an ecosystem that thrives on salmon and the subsequent dense weight that sits on it when this one animal isn't there.  It's dependency on a single yearly mass  migration is what makes this region so delicate and unique.  I was completely captured by this story and the surrounding debate and I hope that my painting does it justice.  << Previous