Welcome to my art studio.  
 

It's vital to have accurate reference materials for your subjects.    I have thousands of marine pictures collected from magazines, photos and books.  I stay current with the latest marine life books and subscribe to several scuba magazines.   I use these photos as reference only and come up with my own compositions for the paintings. 

 
I also have a large specimen shell and coral collection that I started when I was very young.  Today I don't believe in collecting or taking shells or corals from the seas as this can be detrimental to the ocean's environment.    

 I greatly discouraged any purchasing of ocean suvernoirs, shells, corals, etc. when you travel.   It is vital to the oceans health, so please,  leave the shells and corals in their environent and only take photos and memories.