These two pieces were done for an oil company in downtown Denver. They are Acrylic on canvas and both measure five feet by nine feet
I must admit, I viewed these oil rigs in a fairly negative light. These rigs are often seen as blights on the landscape and noted for their harsh impact on the environment. From the beginning, I wanted to offer a positive view of the subject but not do a mere "puff" piece.

After a great deal of research I was a little surprised to find out that these structures often created biomes that had a very high concentration of sea-life. Under these artificial environments exist rich, very diverse communities of ocean dwellers.
The surface piece was inspired by a photo the client had that showed a large group of sea-lions resting on an oil drum used as a marker. I simplified the view showing three sea-lions and painting the barrel in a plain manner. The rest followed fairly easily. The landscape is a loose interpretation of the Santa Barbara coast.
The underwater scene was a little more difficult. I took liberties with the scale of the structure and the animals, to portray this scene accurately the vertical legs of the rig would of been much bigger. This painting is successful because the viewer understands the environment but the focus is on the animals. The movement through this painting is good and avoids the "aquarium" effect.