Inspired by the Dutch Vanitas flower paintings from the sixteenth and seventeenth century.  And even more specifically Rachel Ruysch who was know for her brilliant delicate poppies in her amazingly realistic flower paintings. I thought how could I incorporate my theme mixing things belonging above and below sea level?  I have always had the notion that many of the sea creatures look as though they fill comparable niches as their land dwelling cousins.   I introduced different species of sea anemone and tube worms.  I stuck with clown fish mostly due to the exciting movement of culturing these guys. The majority we see in aquariums today are no longer collected from the ocean but are raised in captivity and like all of our diverse