As an adult, I first saw orcas swimming freely off Vancouver Island, a striking contrast to my childhood memories of captive animals performing for crowds. In the wild, their power, coordination, and social cohesion were unmistakable, and the experience left a lasting impression.

In Ocean Masters, I used graphite to portray several killer whales moving together through open water beneath a dramatic sky. Rather than isolating a single animal, I wanted to emphasize the group’s collective presence and the sense of command these animals bring to their marine world.

The drawing reflects both my admiration for orcas as highly intelligent social predators and my appreciation for the wild ocean environments that support them. Despite the name “killer whale,” attacks on humans in the wild are extraordinarily rare; to me, they represent not menace, but power, grace, and freedom.