These days we are hearing a lot about the big oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Of course oil spills take us back to the horrific memory of what happened with the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989. The primary victims of that spill were the little sea otters. The plight of sea otters inspired me to produce my newest painting in my Endangered Species collection, “Sea Otters Sing Many Songs.” They will be available in note cards and prints in the coming days, so keep an eye out for them.

You can generally find Sea Otters foraging in the morning and napping in the afternoon before resuming their daily chores. They are busy little animals that are, for the most part, peaceful. Their contributions to the health of coastal ecosystems is significant despite their tiny frames giving them the distinction of being labled a keystone species. Though there is a rebound boost in the population of the smallest marine mammals, these little furry guys are still listed as endangered. The most significant threat to sea otters according to Wikipedia has been oil spills. Fur trade and other hunting-related activities have also threatened this very cute but important animal.

They breach the oceans and slap their tails wildly while singing melodic songs. This is just a brief glimpse into the daily life of the Whale, one of the largest known animals in the world. They are mammoth in physical size, however fewer and fewer whales live as time swims forward. Human activity (specifically whaling) has been the chief cause of the dropping population numbers of many whale species on the planet. The North Atlantic Right Whale population, for example, is at around 350. Worldwide. That is a shockingly low number and one that warrants attention. It is with this in mind that my newest piece is born – “Swirl of Fun.” Who doesn’t like whales?

In preparation for Mother’s Day this Sunday, we are offering a neat little promotion. Buy any two art prints from our store and get a third one for FREE. Simply send us an email note with your purchase indicating which print you’d like for free. Isn’t a nice art print a cute way to show your love to your mother? Getting 3 to decorate mom’s wall is an easy way of earning brownie points. Promotion expires this Saturday.

I like breathing clean air. We all do. Now that Earth Day is running 40 years strong as of today, it is showing that recognition is global. Businesses are going green and growing more environmentally motivated. Despite all this, the state of the Earth is still in trouble. We’re losing trees and plantlife at alarming rates as well as losing wildlife to extinction. I started my business a little under 2 years ago to spread awareness and hope and I am pleased with the strides I’ve made. But you know what? We can do better. I am going to up the ante today.

In honor of Earth-Day, EcoPatterns is prepared to give away a free 8.5″ x 11″ art print of your choice to two lucky winners. How do you get one? Easy! Retweet this post and follow @ecopatterns on twitter using our nifty little button below. Later tonight we will choose 2 lucky winners randomly.

It is said that the intelligence of dolphins rivals that of humans. There are even advocacy groups that are fighting to give dolphins human-like rights. That’s quite a cause, folks. The bottom line is, the dolphin is one of the most loved creatures on this planet due to their playful charm and charisma. But now it is certain that populations are spiraling down to alarming levels – causing a concern amongst conservationists and environmentalists, as well as EcoPatterns. We want everyone to be mindful of this very sad truth.

That said, today we debut our newest piece – Dolphin Couple – on our website. The original painting was completed yesterday by Malathip Kriheli and before we even thought about getting the vector art done for future tee-shirts, we felt the urge to share our newest work through exclusive art prints available now. See, time is precious, and awareness of the plight of these extraordinary creatures must be widespread. This is our goal. And remember, every one of your purchases helps fund our favorite charity, WWF.