We All Swim Together

Gouache is an opaque, water-based paint that combines the fluidity of watercolor with the boldness of acrylic or oil paint. It consists of pigment, water, and a binding agent (usually gum arabic), with added chalk or white pigment to enhance its opacity. Gouache is popular among illustrators, designers, and fine artists for its rich color payoff, ease of use, and adaptability across different styles and techniques. Aaron Piland and Ayumi Kajikawa Piland are the fantastical magical duo known as APAK. They are a child-like husband and wife art team who live among the fury conifer giants in a little cottage on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon. They create artwork together as a way exploring the beauty, mystery, and magic of life as well as expressing their love for life and each other. They are known in particular for creating rich and colorful gouache/acrylic paintings on wood featuring the utopian lives and adventures of curious little beings living in lush fantastic environments surrounded by friendly little animals. It is their goal to bring something fresh, beautiful, and meaningful into the world in hopes of inspiring the next generation to live simply, peacefully, and in harmony with nature and each other. Welcome to their world, please enjoy your visit! In the spirit of ocean conservation the international non-profit organization, PangeaSeed, is ramping up its 2012 summer activities in the United States with a west coast art exhibition tour. Tailored to address one the biggest threats facing the health of world's oceans today, the rapid mass depletion of sharks, PangeaSeed aims to expand the public’s knowledge of the inhumane practice of shark finning and its deep impact on the health of our oceans. In the cruel process of shark finning, primarily practiced in Asia but also in other parts of the world, sharks are killed solely for their fins to satisfy an unsustainable appetite for shark fin soup. The shark is hooked and brought aboard the boat where its fins are then cut off and the still alive but limbless animal is tossed back into the sea to drown. With each minute that passes close to 200 sharks are killed, adding up to an astonishing 73 million deaths each year. Scientists estimate that global fish stocks will be in full collapse by 2048 if current consumption and destructive fishing practices continue. But even more shocking is the concern that the majority of the ocean’s shark species could be extinct