octopus awakening

 
Octopus Awakening.jpeg

The original oil painting “Octopus Awakening” was created from a photograph taken at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. (Original oil painting, 42 x 26 )

Octopus are reclusive and also very curious.  They explore their surroundings primarily through touch. They have specialized touch receptors on their suckers that allows them to both taste and smell, which helps them explore and find prey. Each one of it’s eight arms has a dedicated brain that allows them to respond to stimuli without messaging the central brain. This complex nervous system allows each arm to explore independently. Their skin has light sensitive proteins that allows it to see and react to their surroundings by quickly changing the color and texture of their skin to match their surroundings.

 
 

The Octopus reminds us to stay curious and that there is always more to learn. Nature can inspire and humble us to be more empathetic towards our environment, and those that we share it with.

 
 
“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin, . .”
— William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida
 
Initial Oil Sketch

Initial Oil Sketch

Original Photograph

Original Photograph

 

  • Reproductions of the original painting available here

  • T-shirts available here

Watch an amazing documentary about an octopus that won an academy award for best documentary in 2021. It is less of a traditional documentary and more of a story about the relationship of a man who reconnects with life with the help of an octopus.

My Octopus Teacher is on Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/title/81045007.

Learn about the making of the film:

More Octopus Facts

Blanket Octopus

  • Octopus species can be very different, ranging from the Blue Octopus which is one of the most poisonous animals on the planet to a Blanket Octopus that uses stingers from a Portuguese man o' war as a weapons because they live mostly near the surface of the ocean. Learn more about the Blanket Octopus including how the female is the largest Octopus while it’s male counterpart is only an inch. https://youtu.be/2if7lrzbmvM?si=gtchpaGmti_7CnLw

Argonoaut Octopus

Prime Video Documentary Series

  • Octopus!

    • Two 40 minute episodes

    • A quote at the end of Episode 2
      “In the end we will conserve only what we love,
      We love only what we understand,
      And we understand only what we are taught”

Article about a popular book of fiction about Octopus from the New York Times Best Seller List