Following my mum’s milestone piece, my dad’s 60th birthday was up next. Because he lives overseas in New Zealand, I carefully packed these two matching crustacean illustrations and flew with them on the plane to hand-deliver them. My dad has always had a massive passion for fishing, so I wanted to create a timeless, highly detailed pair of marine studies that he could hang up proudly and never get tired of looking at.

Drawn over the span of a few weeks, this project allowed me to explore the unique textures of marine life, balancing the glistening, smooth pattern of scales with the jagged, prehistoric elements of a crab.

Hand-inked as a conceptual pair. For the living crab, I used soft, layered stippling to mimic the iridescent shine and wet texture of a fresh catch. For the counterpart, I went entirely anatomical, mapping out the fine, needle-like bones and structural vertebrae with crisp dot work  and deep shadow pockets.

Hand-drawn on premium cardstock, these pieces required careful handling to survive a flight across the Tasman Sea before being beautifully framed and mounted together as a matching set on his wall.

There is nothing better than seeing your art find a permanent home with the people who mean the most to you. Having them framed side-by-side perfectly captures the duality of the ocean, the life and the anatomy and stands as an awesome personal tribute to his favourite pastime.