Before returning to land-based subjects, I wanted to try painting some sea creatures.  I chose these whales because of the way the sunlight highlighted them so perfectly.  At first, I tried exaggerating this highlight to bring more drama to the piece, but quickly realized that it overwhelmed the whales and wasn’t true to how real sunlight behaves.  Repainting the water was frustrating, but I’m satisfied with the end result and encouraged by how smoothly the piece came together once I realized my mistake.