Caia Koopman Hawaiian Monk Seal Print PangeaSeed - Sea of Change: April Print Release

PangeaSeed is pleased to announce the forth print release of  the 2013 print-suite "Sea of Change: The Year of Living Dangerously" -  April print release. Raising awareness for the critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal.

"Monk" by Caia Koopman.

Fine art Giclee print on Italian cold-press watercolor paper. 18" X 24 " Very limited edition of 50 - $150  plus shipping & handling (limit one per household).

Printed by Spoke Art Editions - available Wednesday April 17 at 12pm PST only via the PangeaSeed Emporium - follow the link below:

http://pangeaseed.myshopify.com/


In the Artist's Words:

I really enjoyed the opportunity to express my concern for rapidly disappearing and critically endangered species in my painting "Monk" for PangeaSeed. My painting portrays the critically endangered Hawaiian Monk seal while the female character symbolizes the souls of a shrinking population and seals past. I believe strongly that we humans, all living things and even the planet itself are intrinsically connected.

When humans are the main cause of a species becoming extinct, even unknowingly, I believe a small part of ourselves dies along with a part of the global ecosystem. In my painting entitled "Monk" the female character represents all humans who are then connected to all life making her and the seal interchangeable. Her ghostlike aura illustrates the near extinction peril of the Hawaiian Monk seal.

The Hawaiian name for the monk seal is Ilio holo I ka uaua, or "dog that runs in rough water" and this is at the center of my piece. This beautiful streamline seal has short hairs on its head earning it its common name for resembling a monk. I particularly love the haunting beauty of the monk's large black eyes and this makes the saying that seals are just dog mermaids so believable.

The Hawaiian Monk seal has an especially small population of only about 1,100 and are threatened by many things including entanglement in fishing nets, loss of habitat and past commercial hunting for their skins.

I have also included in this painting an endangered Ae'o or Hawaiian Stilt, and the I'iwi, which is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper of which there are many species and many are already extinct. I hope there will be more cooperation in the world to protect the species we have left and to give back habitat rather than the continuous push by humans to take for ourselves and not share.

Caia -