This series of paintings examines the interconnectedness of Chesapeake Bay watershed ecosystems: bay, estuary, marsh, stream, forest. The figures are grouped according to relationships: predator, prey, host, ally. The Chesapeake Bay watershed supports over 3,000 species, some native, some migratory, and some invasive.

There are over 300 varieties of fish alone: some, like the pumpkinseed, live in fresh water; some in salt, like the black bass; and some, like the eel and sturgeon, migrate between both. Keystone species, such as the beaver and oyster, filter the water and keep the bay healthy. Many of these species are interdependent: the mussel depends on the eel for successful reproduction, and gobis make their home in empty oyster shells. This interdependence filters through the ecosystem like the water itself.

People also rely on the fisheries of the bay, including oysters and its famous blue crab.  But human interference of all kinds leaves many of the species depicted, such as the secretive rainbow snake, black rail, and spotted turtle, critically threatened. Despite our myriad assaults — storm run-off from hard top roads, agricultural pollution, over fishing and dams — the bay continues to provide.

Each painting contains a silhouette of an aerial view of a portion of the watershed that resembles the Japanese river dragon, evoking the sacredness of water and the dependence of all beings upon it. The area of the watershed I represent suggests a Japanese river dragon, and I take inspiration from the 16th century Japanese painter Ito Jakuchu and the works of Studio Ghibli.

The “cellular” underpainting alludes to habitat fragmentation, but also suggests the microbial and cellular underpinning that links all beings. The figure/ground relationship is often blurred, hinting at interconnection, or what Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh called “interbeing.” Recognizing and repairing our own figure-ground relationship to our environment may begin to alleviate the some of the harm that this fractured relationship has resulted in.