The nautilus is an ancient living fossil that still lives among us and is older than the dinosaurs. Their lifespan may exceed 20 years, which is exceptionally long for a cephalopod. Fossil studies have shown they have not evolved much in 500 million years. When nature is efficient and practical there’s no need to change.  

Their shape is not just a spiral but conforms to one of life’s great mysteries, the Golden Ratio, which is found throughout nature and is considered sacred. The Golden Ratio is based on the Fibonacci series, which is a series of numbers where the first two numbers add up to the succeeding number, like this: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233. This ratio (1.61803398..) can be found in every life form, from our DNA to many plants, the human skeleton, shells, and the proportions in animals. Mathematicians have always admired the nautilus as it represents to them one of nature’s perfect equations.

I’ve always been attracted to the spiral shape and it does appear in many of my paintings. There is something soothing to me about a spiral compared to any other shape. This piece is not a complete nautilus/spiral shape but has just the hint of one.

So here is my take on this ancient shape that has been around for at least 500 million years — it is resilient, mysterious, and sheer perfection — the nautilus.

“Family Nautilidae In the Midnight Hour”