April 10, Seattle Horseshoe Crab

This is an 8x10 acrylic on archival card that I painted in Seattle because we saw it at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in a wonderful touch tank full of beautiful rays... I should be painting some of those too!  This is going to the Art4Shelter Event at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts on May 10th!  It'll be up for grabs for $90, which is less than the $180 I'd be asking for it!
I have always loved horseshoe crabs since I was a kid and first saw one in Galveston, Texas, which was also the first time I saw the ocean, I think. They are so toy-like, with the hard upper shell and those small, crinkled eyes, and the little tail that may move.  It's only if you pick them up that you see the crabby feet underneath! When I lived in Key Largo in the late 90's, I was kayaking one time and couldn't stop myself from riding right over a mating pair in the seagrass... I felt bad but I'm sure I didn't hurt them- I'm not sure I even touched their shells!  And another time in Key Largo I spent a good hour with some friends rescuing a horseshoe crab who had gotten tangled in fishing line and was stuck in some coral.  We didn't have a snorkel or anything and the tide was coming in, so we were taking breaths and diving under to saw at the fishing line with a seashell until we were able to pull him up and separate his little legs from the line...

8x10 acrylic on archival card

$90

only available at Art4Shelter!