#physalus

The fin whale was featured previously, but because of their strongly asymmetrical illustration MARS wanted to show their left side too. The Pygmy sperm whale illos already existed, but based on work on the Dwarf sperm whale I wanted to retouch it a bit. I’m glad to have finally painted narwhals (even though they’re a pain lol) and the bowhead was super interesting too, because it has been a while since I last painted one and they’re unusually proportioned to say the least. Fun to see the progression. The Mola mola was a fun challenge! Never painted fish much. I had lots of fun with this and I hope you’ll enjoy too!  

I’d already completed the full body fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) illustration for Sealife Dolphin Watching and in line with the other illustrations the whale faced left. But yesterday I painted their ‘other side’. While all balaenopterids have asymmetrical colouration to a certain degree, fin, and the closely related Omura’s whales, take it to the extreme. One side of their head is almost completely black, while the other shines bright in white and light greys. Although both their shoulders are adorned with complex markings and chevrons, the right side is far more bright, elaborate, and individually unique than the left. An absolute headache to paint - but it’s worth it, for what I think is one of the most beautiful faces in the sea.

The second largest animal on the planet, the fin whale is only surpassed in size by the blue whale. Despite their huge dimensions they are amongst the fastest of the great whales and the true bearers of the nickname 'Greyhound of the sea' (oops, mistake made with the seis). They got this nickame from American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews, "for its beautiful, slender body is built like a racing yacht and the animal can surpass the speed of the fastest ocean steamship." Up to a 100 ventral pleats line their throat and belly, allowing them to hold 60 000 kilos of water in their mouth - which is more than they weigh themselves. This species is no doubt the best known asymmetrically coloured cetacean, even though many more species (such as the Dwarf and Antarctic minke whale, and even Bottlenose dolphins) also have uneven markings. On their right side Fin whales are remarkable light, with a great light grey rostral saddle and an all-white lower jaw. Even the baleen on the right side are largely tinted yellow instead of black. However, with all previous whales facing left and for the sake of consistency, the much darker left side is shown here - which, I discovered, is no less intricately patterned than the right.