Red Sea coral is under threat from various sources, and this painting was made after spending a few days near Eilat this summer. (We stayed in Kibbutz Elifaz, which is in the Arava, in the desert near the spectacular Timna.) South of there, at the Red Sea, the beautiful coral reefs can be found at points along the coast of the Sinai peninsula. Scuba diving is a huge draw for many, allowing an absolutely enchanting encounter with the undersea world. Here’s an excerpt from an article in the New York Times (19/12/22) about the threat to the coral reefs and the surprising resilience of Red Sea coral:
“The vast majority of the world’s coral reefs are likely to be severely damaged in the coming decades if the planet keeps warming at its current rate.
But the wildly colorful coral reefs in the waters outside the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh, where the annual United Nations climate conference is taking place, are an anomaly: They can tolerate the heat, and perhaps even thrive in it, making them some of the only reefs in the world that have a chance of surviving climate change.
There is a limit to how much they can take, however.”
This painting was a private commission (acrylic on canvas, 50x70cm), intended to celebrate the beauty and importance of coral reefs worldwide. Here are some details from the painting:
Museum-quality canvas prints are now available of this painting. And I made this (probably a bit too slow!) video of the painting process:
