NUDE & SEA TURTLE (Original Painting) Oil on Canvas, 36 x 48 Unframed by Susan Andreasen

Features a nude figure and a critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtle. The work draws attention to the species’ declining numbers, threats from poaching, by catch, habitat loss, and climate change.

Nude women and a Hawks Bill Sea Turtle. Who is looking into the sea and wondering if the Haws Bill Sea Turtle will have laid her eggs? There are around 8,000 nesting females globally, though some sources give a broader range of 50,000-80,000 total individuals, highlighting a severe decline from historical numbers. For the next generation to hatch because it takes 20 years for a sea turtle to become able to reproduce themselves.

Hawksbill Turtles are critically endangered primarily due to the illegal wildlife trade poaching for their beautiful shells, getting caught accidentally in fishing gear(bycatch), losing nesting and feeding habitats to coastal development, and impacts from pollution and climate change. Despite bans, demand for their “tortoiseshell” products continues, while habitat loss and marine debris further threaten their survival, making them one of the most imperiled sea turtle species.