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.

A polar bear sits helpless on breaking ice watching its mother slip away on a neighbouring chunk. This painted a grim scene of a television commercial about global warming I saw a couple years ago. Though the message was alarmist, it inspired me into doing research about the predicament of polar bears and thus, my business was born. Though I haven’t designed any polar bear patterns since I started EcoPatterns, it has always been dominating my thoughts. With that said, I’d like to proudly unveil my first polar bear related pattern and painting that I finished this week, “Comforting Love” – available now in Note Cards and 8.5″x11″ Art Prints.

Speaking of Note Cards, I am delighted to announce that a whole array of our first edition note cards are now available in store at LP Designs (5 North Liberty Street) in Powell, Ohio [ see on map ]. If you are in the area, definitely stop by their store and give our love and regards to super-sweet Leslie Pannelle. See the images below.

Our Earth Day Contest had a modest twitter turnout, but it was a turnout nonetheless. Thank you all that support EcoPatterns in our daily fight to raise awareness for endangered animals. We’d like to extend our congratulations to Jason Springer and Shahnaz Mohammed. Thanks again, and don’t forget to follow them on twitter as well as @ecopatterns.