The seeds for my avian-Moby-Dick paintings were planted many years ago. As a child, I discovered the Illustrated Classic Comics Two Years Before the Mast and Moby-Dick, stories that enthralled me and captured my imagination.

In 2003, I returned to Moby-Dick as a mature artist. My previous paintings with ‘bird-people’ had made me aware that Melville’s characters could be seen in a new light—that bird characteristics could convey the characters’ interior lives. The more I painted, the more I became aware that I was part of something substantial and memorable beyond myself. I could almost feel the tarry breath of whalers behind me as the paintings became more detailed and involved.


Moby-Dick paintings are photographed by Saverio Truglia.