1 Lizas Reef


Home The Paintings of Liza's Reef The Story of Liza's Reef Exhibition Calendar Auction of Paintings in 2015 Liza's Reef Art Book Painting Technique Art Biography Early Paintings Hope For The Oceans Hope For The Rain Forests The Reef Store -Gifts and Prints About Liza's Reef Frequently Asked Questions Organizations Liza's Reef is Helping Liza's Reef Project History Publicity & Reviews Artist and Website Author Environmental News of the Week Mass Extinction of Species World Environmental Organizations WNC Environmental Organizations Photography of Liza Schillo Subscribe to Liza's Reef Newsletter Search Website Site Map	"Liza's Reef" is the first painting in the Liza's Reef series. It shows a lush stand of brilliantly colored Royal Coral, or Corail Royal as it is referred to in the island's Tahitian-French dialect, and behind it, a tall stand of Poenui Rougissent Corail (Poenui's Blushing Coral). This unusual coral has the chameleon-like ability to change colors, perhaps a response to light intensity or changes in the water. Pink seems to be the predominant color but shades of yellow, blue and green are also common. The white color of this coral, as with the Royal Coral, is also typical of many corals on Liza's Reef and is not a sign of bleaching but instead seems to be a precursor to more highly colored shades that appear as the corals age. The types of corals on the reef are similar to others I have seen around the world but at the same time were distinctly different in many ways. There were hundreds of extraordinary fish on Liza's Reef and I have included a number of my favorites in this painting. The large orange grouper is called Mérou De Coucher du Soleil, or Sunset Grouper. It seems to be one of the dominant fish of the reef, is highly territorial and very aggressive when threatened, and they remind me somewhat of Nassau Groupers in their behavior and appearance. They can get quite large according to the natives on VanuaSemia, and specimens up to three feet in length have been reported. They also seem to have an unusual relationship with the lovely smaller yellow and white tang (Saveur Jaune et Blanche) shown below it and the two species are often found together. The grouper exhibits its protective territorial behavior not only when it is threatened but also when any reef predators threaten the tangs. This may have more to do with their common territories and similar colors than any species intercommunication but still it is an interesting and fascinating fact. It is quite rare in nature for one species to defend another. Also seen in the painting are the beautiful Queen Angel Fish (Poisson Ange De la Reine) seen throughout the South Pacific, and a species of feisty pufferfish the natives called Pufferfish Du Fiji, or Fiji's Pufferfish. No one knows how this species got its name or what connection it has with Fiji, since none are found in that part of the South Pacific. They are always found in groups and exhibit a most unusual behavior of swimming up to large branches of coral and suddenly darting up and over them, almost as if they were "jumping". The large starfish shown at the bottom of the painting is the famous Etoile Du Pacifique (Pacific Star) found throughout Oceania. There are many of these on the reef, and unlike the Crown of Thorns Starfish that is so destructive of coral reefs, this species seems to have a benign relationship with the reefs it inhabits. It is a very popular with the natives of VanuaSemia, and are thought to be a sign of good luck when one is found washed up on the island's beaches. In the upper left of the painting is a grouping of the common Corail Tacheté Vert Bleu, or Blue Green Speckled Coral which is found often on all of the reefs around VanuaSemia, not just Liza's. And on the right side of the painting, ascending in a line, are some of the large dark, almost identical blue bubbles which are only seen on Liza's Reef -Bulles Stellaires Bleues as they are called. The VanuaSemians say that they are the "dreams made visible" of Motu Mana , their Goddess of the Coral Reefs, and that they are proof of her presence. The other proofs they claim of Motu Mana's presence, are the shimmering stars and the moons that are seen everywhere interwoven in the fabric of the reef, the most extraordinary feature of all. To Painting #2 Areiti -The Little Wave