Galápagos Marine Iguana.

In 2019 I was lucky enough to visit the Galápagos Islands and had the pleasure of observing these incredible creatures over the course of a few weeks. I spent hours observing their sun loving nature and rock star looks as they warmed themselves on the rocks after a chilly swim. They are an endemic species to the islands and the only lizard in the world that forages in the ocean for its food. I am still captivated by their rustic charm and challenged myself to live up to the M.C. Escher quote I have on my website - “Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible”. Using a photograph that I took as reference, I wanted to see just how photographic I could get the painting. I painted every single scale and had to resort to using the grid method, so as not to lose my place.

Check out the detail shots below and short video to see how I painted this magnificent lizard.