Art and Photo Gallery

TROPICAL BLOSSOM, oil on canvas, by Paul Erickson
FIRE OPAL, oil on canvas, by Paul Erickson
RAINFOREST BIRD, oil on canvas, by Paul Erickson
BIRD DREAMS, oil on canvas, by Paul Erickson
RED SEA REEF WITH JEWELFISH, oil on canvas, by Paul Erickson

NASSAU MEDICINE GARDEN, oil on canvas, by Paul Erickson
FIRE OPAL II aka SPACE JUNK, oil on canvas, by Paul Erickson
Academic pencil drawing by Paul Erickson, Montserrat College of Art, copy of DA VINCI’S HEAD OF A YOUTH (not for sale)


Simplicity
This morning, a few dew drops on a spider web reminded me to keep things simple. Doesn’t it feel refreshing to declutter?

MORNING DEW ON SPIDER WEB at Long Hill Garden, Beverly MA
NATURAL STOP SIGN
DETAIL OF SPANISH DANCER NUDIBRANCH aka SEA SLUG

In our new road show Dazzle: How Nature Uses Colors to Attract, Repel, Disguise, and Fool, we spotlight this Spanish Dancer sea slug (nudibranch) I photographed in the Indo-Pacific. 

To predators, the marine mollusk’s dazzling color apparently say STOP! CONSUME AT YOUR OWN RISK. That’s because this red sea slug contains a toxic chemical obtained from a sponge the 6-inch long, soft-bodied mollusk loves to eat.

Backstory: pharmacologists have studied this chemical from the slug—an anti-fungal agent that fights off Candida albicans.
JEWELFISH, acrylic on canvas, by Paul Erickson