Water Equals Life

Water = Life, (8"x 8") mixed media distressed painting, 2011

Water equals life should be a self-explanatory statement of fact because without water there would be no life. However, along with all the other realities we ignore, this one is perhaps the most frightening. I see people in south Florida throw their plastic junk on the beach constantly. On our beach the trashcan is a short walk away. On Delaware beaches people are more conscientious for some reason. Could it be that they are more mannerly in general? Or are they actually more aware of the consequences of their recklessness? It is essential that people everywhere be made aware that their profligacy will damage the future of our planet.

"Why is that, John," my alter ego says.

Plastic bottles begin to decompose in ocean water at temperatures of 86 degrees Fahrenheit much more rapidly than previously thought. They leave behind poisonous derivatives of polystyrene suspended in the salt water. Plastic bottles and bags are found floating in the oceans all over the planet because hundreds of thousands find their way through our run-off into streams, then rivers, and finally into the ocean every year. Additionally, plastic bags especially will kill turtles and porpoises because they are mistaken for food as they float in the water.

Plastics are oil-based products. We already know what oil will do in salt water from watching the 2010 BP Gulf Oil Spill Disaster unfold. Gulf Coast states are still reeling in 2012 from that horror despite BP television commercials to the contrary.

All of my distressed and pastel paintings are aimed at awareness and conservation of the oceans of our planet. Now, I must somehow find a way to put them before the public, though few seem to be interested in art that has a purpose other than being pretty. Never the less, I know that these paintings are handsome artworks and artworks with a purpose.