My name is Alyse and I am an artist from San Mateo, California. I have always loved to draw, and decided to pursue art full time after a near-death experience and a career as a professional rock climber. The outdoors and art became linked permanently for me in September of 2012, when I fell about 20 meters off a cliff in a hiking accident. My major injuries consisted of a broken spine, a shattered pelvis, and a collapsed lung. I was paralyzed from the waist down, and consequently wheelchair-bound and told I would never walk again. For someone as active as me, this was devastating and an intensely difficult time in many ways.

Because hiking and climbing were out of reach I became hooked on creating art, previously only an infrequent hobby, and began developing my passion for drawing with an intensity that I never had before. So although I couldn’t move my legs and the mountains were far away, I lived vicariously through illustrations of untamed wilderness and wildlife. And as much as my art allowed me to drift away from the immobilized world I was in, it also fueled a fire in me to walk among the mountains once more. Against all odds, I returned to climbing and became a professional sponsored climber three years after my accident.

Rock climbing has brought me to many wild places that few have experienced, and in my art I try to convey the sense of awe and wonder I feel when experiencing a new landscape or seeing a wild animal. My my deep love and passion for the natural world is the main source of inspiration for my drawings. However, I soon realized that while I will always be a climber, the world of professional climbing wasn’t for me. So I took a gamble and quit my pro climbing career, and dropped out of college to pursue art full time. Now eleven years after my accident I am a full-time artist, and hike and climb as often as I draw.

I have never taken a class and am entirely self-taught, and finding my own artistic style has involved as much, if not more, exploration as rock climbing does. I use micron pens, black watercolor, and white acryl-gouche for my drawings, and love the juxtaposition of controlled, meticulous linework combined with the freedom and flow of watercolor. I have done artist residencies all over the world, from the humid and biodiverse cloud forest of Ecuador to Svalbard, the northernmost community in the world, where there are more polar bears than people. I’m inspired by wild nature and dramatic landscapes, as well as the people who live symbiotically with nature in order to thrive in these environments. My goal as an artist is to utilize my drawings to instill a sense of wonder, curiosity, and respect for nature while also drawing attention to the need to conserve and protect our natural environment and take action on the current climate crisis.

There has never been a more urgent need to protect and conserve our oceans. As the largest and most important earth system, it’s astonishing that only 5% has been explored, especially while we spend billions on space exploration. But as has been proven time and time again, people tend to care about what they can see, understand, and connect with. Most people know of the ocean as waves and horizons- only what’s on top. It’s hard for them to grasp the danger the ocean is in when acidification, fishery depletion, coral bleaching, and so many other threats don’t change what the surface looks like. The vast abundance of life below is virtually unknown and unseen by the majority of the population.

The ocean covers 97% of our planet and is a driving force of the health and livability of the earth. Ocean dynamics, CO2 absorption, heat regulation, and so much more are the gears that keep our home running. The deep depths hold untold medicines and cures, the kelp forests present plastic alternatives, reef ecosystems hold secrets of symbiosis and interconnectedness. And yet, ocean science is inordinately underfunded and disregarded. It’s a constant shock to me when I bring up an ocean or sea life fact, or an abhorrent practice like shark finning, and most people have never even heard of it. Not that everyone need be as huge an ocean and natural science nerd as I am, but it’s truly astonishing that this environment that makes up the vast majority of the earth is just… ignored. And with the effects of climate change not only looming but currently ongoing, it’s frightening.

While participating in an artist residency on Svalbard, I got to witness firsthand the changes in sea ice and the struggle of arctic marine animals. During the months of polar night I also became hooked on ocean documentaries like Seaspiracy and Mission Blue, then read every book I could find on oceanography, marine biology, and the undiscovered deep. Documentaries and books are forms of art. When I made the connection that my passion for ocean science was sparked by art, I knew the direction I wanted to take my own work in. Art is a communication tool, and an effective one. And I am determined to use mine to fuel emotional connection, understanding, and the desire to protect our oceans.

“To look at the surface of the ocean without knowing the sparkling web of life that is woven through its depths is to be blind to its wonders and the part it plays in making our existence possible”. -Edith Widder