CASSIE ANDERSON

As a dive professional working in the industry for over 5 years, I’ve been lucky enough to have many ‘once in a life time’ ocean experiences, which have had a huge impact on my life by continually reigniting my love for the ocean. More recently I’ve progressed into turning these ocean memories into art.

I love being able to show the beauty of below through this medium, whether that’s bringing awareness about the creatures I paint or bringing dive memories back to life. These intimate experiences of being underwater have shown me different perspectives of the ocean, because as I paint, I can see intricate details and patterns of species up close, that maybe I would miss when actually diving. By portraying the ocean this way to others, I hope that one day they can get inspired to dive in and feel that same inner peace that the ocean has given me.

Shortfin Mako Shark

My goal was to put the animal in focus. There should be, so to speak, eye contact between shark and viewer and a kind of communication and connection to be created. Since the Shortfin Mako Shark can appear unattractive or threatening to some people due to its very distinctive jaws, the viewer’s attention should be directed towards the eye and facial expression. After all, the eyes are the window of the soul. The simplistic and uncluttered background with the slight colour gradient makes the shark stand out even more.