"This piece is inspired by my many interactions with sea lions while kayaking in and around Ucluelet Harbour, BC. Once, I was paddling too close to the docks at the fish plant when a startled sea lion slid off the dock and began following me. I could see the submerged creature's air bubbles getting bigger as it came closer to my kayak. Another time a startled sea lion leaped of the water, lunging and barking at my kayaking companion when we got too close. And yet another incident frightened me when a huge head emerged in a puff of watery froth right beside my kayak. It was so close I could smell him and see that some of his teeth were broken.

As this drawing evolved, the sea lion began to look like he was smiling, which prompted me to make him laugh - perhaps laughing at all my startled reactions to the animal's immensity surfacing far too close to me."   - Shannon McWhinney