My name is Adeline or ‘Addie’ Cloutier. I am fifteen years old and my home is now in Tampa, Florida. I have spent most of my life in Africa (Mozambique and Angola) where my father worked in public health. When I’m not in school or at swim practice, I’m either in the ocean or working on my marine art projects. My passion is competitive swimming but I love to surf, freedive with marine animals, and scuba dive on occasion. Mozambique is a wonderful place. I love the people, the culture and the food. We have found some of the most amazing shells, seen some of the most incredible animals, and heard some of the most inspiring music in our time here. Angola was incredible too.
I learned how to swim at a very young age when my father was working in Timor-Leste or “East Timor”. I was a baby then and he would take me and my brother in the crystal clear reefs off the coast to snorkel. Some of my favorite things to see were clownfish, sweetlips and parrotfish. It was such a magical place. We still communicate with some of our friends there.
My inspiration is to use my art to raise awareness for marine conservation and use funding we raise for more research on some of the animals I’ve been blessed to interact with, like manta rays and whale sharks. Email me sometime, I’d love to hear about what you do!
