Sea nettle

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Comment by Anjali Chandrashekar on January 10, 2013 at 12:58am

Marine biodiversity has always been my passion and I love the ocean and its inhabitants. Jellyfish have a sense of grace and their colors, form and pulsating motion fascinates me. The deep contrast between the orange of the sea nettles to the striking blue of the water made me want to replicate the same on my canvas. The way their long tentacles almost danced around in the water gave way for a perfect visual narrative.

As fascinating and graceful these jellies look, I learnt that the sea nettles that inhabit the Californian coast are medusivores, i.e they dine on other jelly species. Equipped with stinging cells within their tentacles, they have no control over what it stings however do so instantly when touched. It made me realize that nature is so complex yet beautiful and that looks can be deceiving. The long and gracious tentacles of the Sea Nettles can also be deadly. I remember watching them at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco during my visit there.