"Beautiful Beluga" Original Puzzle Piece Painting
I had the Beluga whale puzzle piece painting sketched out months ago, before the Willow Project was given the go ahead by the Biden administration. But, as I researched more on the subject of the Willow Project I realized the impact it would have on the wild beauty of Alaska, my home, where I grew up, and what can be done to stop it and protect the land, animals and native Alaskan lifestyle on the North Slope. I was at this stage in my puzzle painting “A Never Ending Story” of transitioning from land animals and birds, into some marine species, and felt the Beluga Whale was a timely piece of the puzzle to paint.
I always like for my art, and the story behind each piece, to be positive and encouraging, and I don’t want to change that even though the Willow Project is very disturbing and can have long lasting negative impacts on our planet. So, I’m not going to stop now! Let’s put a positive spin on this and see where it goes. I know for a lot of people, myself included, when I first heard the Biden Administration had green lighted the Willow Project my first instinct was to be devastated, but then I quickly snapped out of it because I knew that was not helpful to myself or my mission to spread positivity and hope for our planet. So, I decided to paint some beautiful, colorful, uplifting art instead to bring attention to the matter in a positive way. So here she is! The “Beautiful Beluga” frolicking in the open sea with dolphins and whales sharing in her joy of living a free life surrounded by the beauty of the open sea, with colorful bubbles floating about, and little fishies trailing behind. Let’s preserve these wild places of our planet for future generations to come.
Map Image Source: World Atlas
The fight isn’t over to protect the wilds of the North Slope of Alaska! It’s been heartening to see the outpouring of support to stop this project from moving forward, and continuing even after the project was approved…failure is never an option when it comes to saving the planet! So many people from environmentalists, to everyday people posting on their social media have made this protest go viral. And this is what it takes to protect our planet, whether we can be actively involved, or simply lend our signature to a change.org petition (over 4 million signatures already!), we are all change makers, and have the power to make a difference. One way to support the cause is to donate to Earth Justice, the premier nonprofit public interest environmental law organization, fighting to protect our planet through the power of the law. They, along with other environmental organizations, have sued to put a stop to the Willow Project before it does irreversible damage to Alaska and our planet.
Image Source: NOAA
Action helps prevent climate anxiety; when we feel like we are doing something to promote change for the better and working towards solutions to conserve and preserve our planet, we feel empowered to do more, and be a part of something greater than ourselves…the preservation of Mother Earth, our home. And for me, this hits particularly close to home, because Alaska is such a special place, and where my heart will always belong. Having grown up off grid in the wilds of the Tongass National Forest, AK, one of the most beautiful, and pristine places on the planet, I want to do everything I can to help protect it, and the rest of planet earth. Please join me in lending our collective voice to #StopTheWillowProject and preserve the North Slope of Alaska!
What to do to help bring attention, and justice, to this travesty to our planet:
Donate to Earth Justice
Sign the Change.org petition
Use the hashtag #StopWillow and voice your support on your social media outlets
To learn more about the impacts of Willow on Alaska, and the planet, visit HERE.
"Beautiful Beluga" Original Puzzle Piece Painting
There are also other ways to help support causes (such as Stop the Willow
Project) by doing things that feel good to you. For instance, I paint colorful, uplifting animal art, and write about the story behind each painting to bring attention to their endangered status and ways we can help; along with tips on living a sustainable, more eco-friendly lifestyle. From the sale of each painting sold, I also donate a portion to organizations such as ReWild or Earth Justice. So, when you purchase art from me, you are not only supporting me as an artist (thank you!) and my mission to protect our planet through art, and getting beautiful art, you are also helping to support the conservation and preservation of our planet through these organizations and my donation to them.
“Beautiful Beluga” the original puzzle piece painting is available for purchase here. She is a part of my epic puzzle painting “A Never Ending Story”. Let’s make our own life stories, and that of the planet, Never Ending as well, by supporting organizations that do so much to save our home. We are all interconnected, and must work together to preserve and conserve OUR mother earth.
