A new art exhibit opened at the Great Lakes Aquarium with work from Curator of Aquatics Miranda Rinne. She was inspired by her job and pictures in old textbooks to create “An Aquarist’s Field Guide.”

Aquarium goers may recognize familiar faces in her watercolor work. Rinne takes pictures of the animals from different angles to make sure her drawings are anatomically accurate.

Rinne told The Lift, “Working with fish has been a great joy in my life, and I think, sometimes, fish are underappreciated- Especially some of our freshwater natives. I wanted to showcase some of the animals and individuals to show off their beauty.”

Her favorite piece depicts the sea dragons in the Ocean’s Alive exhibit.

“I really love sea dragons in general- just because of their really unique personalities. They’re very delicate fish, but they’re very curious and fearless at the same time… You can tell them apart not only from their markings but also how they behave and how they interact. And Burdock, for example, the male here, always comes up to greet me in the morning.”

The aquarium hosts about five different artists each year in its gallery. Miranda’s work will be up through November 11.

There is an opening reception for Miranda’s work from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, September 11.