"Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world." -Moby Dick These are words that frequently passed through Duncan Robertson's mind this past spring. Duncan is an Illustrator in Richmond VA. He is an incredibly talented painter. The first time I heard about Duncan was from friends of mine who took a photo I shot of them and had Duncan paint it. It was incredible! It looked just like the photo and yet he added unique details that told the story of their relationship. It was an honor to see my photo turned into such a beautiful painting. Even more of an honor was when Duncan approached me to take photos of a new project he was working on- a 4x9 ft. mural. Richmond's Black Iris hired Duncan to paint a mural depicting 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Moby Dick with guest appearances by David Byrne and David Bowie.

Duncan spent hours researching 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Moby Dick. He listened the audio books and watched the classic films. Sketches upon sketches helped expand his creativity before the paintbrush even hit the canvas. It was a privileged experience to come in every couple of days and see the progress of the painting as well as a table full of papers of research and little torn out sketches of squids, whales, boats, waves, sailors, even Byrne and Bowie.

Duncan, you are truly talented. Thank you for asking me to document the progress of this phenomenal piece!