This painting was done in the fall of 2003, while working on a series regarding phobias. What began as a self portrait shifted to babies engaged in a relationship with mako sharks, creatures that look menacing, about to attack when in fact they are just swimming by. Mako sharks are the same species depicted on the original jaws poster, rather than a great white shark because of their ragged, knife-like teeth. Copyright 2003 Nathan Ratcliffe