"The more the public can be educated about the wonders of the world that they might not necessarily see every day, the more they will be willing to protect it."
— Betty Busby

X-RAY MAG: Tell us about yourself and your work, where you are from and how you’ve gotten to where you are today.

X-RAY MAG: Tell us about yourself, your background, and how you became an artist.
 

We know more about the dark side of the moon than we know about the depths of the oceans, and so it is a perfect hunting ground for one’s imagination."

—Jens Umbach

X-RAY MAG: Tell us about yourself, your background and how you became an artist.

"I hope that, in some small way, by bringing my interpretation of the beauty and majesty of the underwater world to the attention of people, that they may feel the same desperate need that I have to preserve it for future generations."

—Gerry Miles

X-RAY MAG: Tell us about yourself, your background and how you became an artist.

MF: Ever since I was small, I liked to move my fingers, and I loved drawing and manga (Japanese comic books). I imitated manga characters and drew original characters by myself. I still like the work of the famous Japanese artist Katsuhiro Otomo even today.

"My role may be to increase the number of people interested in marine life and the beauty of the sea through my artwork."

— Masayo Fukuda

X-RAY MAG: Tell us about yourself, your background and how you became an artist and a photographer.

MN: I have always loved photography as an art, but I started out with drawing and painting. Later in 2007, I discovered photography as a means of expressing myself, and it completely replaced painting for me. My photographs are not exactly photographs, because I do a lot of editing in Photoshop, and my creations are somewhere between paintings and photography. Both arts, for me, are very similar and interrelated.

Water is my creative vehicle. Creation, life, power... water is filled with tremendous energy. It gives both pleasure and delight. It gives life, but also poses a risk and a threat. It can destroy us.

— Mira Nedyalkova

X-RAY MAG: Tell us about yourself, your background and how you became an artist.

"We can become numb to the facts and numbers regarding plastic pollution, but visual art can allow people to see the problem in a different light. Art can facilitate a dialogue about the issue and contribute to real changes."

— Kristen Regan

X-RAY MAG: Tell us about yourself, your background and how you became an artist. From whom or what do you gain inspiration for your art and artistic process?

NK: My background is in painting, but I never studied at an art school. I taught myself both two-dimensional (painting) and three-dimensional (sculpture) art forms. I rely on my own hard work to learn and improve my artwork. I am convinced that I have a “work dependence syndrome" and create my work incessantly, as if I am going mad.

"The Japanese character for the word 'sea' has the character for 'mother' in it. The elements in seawater and in amniotic fluid are similar. The Ocean is the mother of the Earth."

— Noriko Kuresumi

X-RAY MAG: Tell us about yourself, your background and how you became an artist. Are there mentors or artists or other sources of inspiration that have influenced you, your art or artistic process?

X-RAY MAG: Tell us about yourself, your background and how you became an artist.

FW: I’m a self-taught artist born and raised in San Francisco. Like most kids, I always loved to draw and paint, but for me, that passion continued a lifetime. I was that kid in school that always colored inside the lines; maybe that’s why I’m a realist and love painting detail. I never considered art as a career. It was just a fun release for my imagination. Instead, I wanted to be a firefighter.

I strive for accuracy and want to know all there is about the subject I paint. The best way to do that is to dive into that world.

— Frank Walsh