This series started several years ago, when news that an adolescent Fin Whale beached itself on the local Oregon coast. I had never been so close to phenomena of that magnitude, either physically close or emotionally close by my complete fascination and duress.  I am captivated by the idea of something so huge, grand and beautiful rising from the unseen depths of the ocean to become a burden. We all struggle with death, in this case the whale served as a direct unavoidable confrontation with death and a physical multi-ton obstacle to be dealt with. As I paint these magnificent mammals, I dive deeper into the other implications of this phenomena. The environmental issues, the politics and the reminder at we humans are so small with such a limited understanding of all that is going on beneath the surface.