An Enquirer.com Special Section	FRIDAY, MAY 14, 1999
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THE AQUARIUM Introduction Going there The murals The music Shop and Eat Beginnings THE EXHIBITS World Rivers Shore Gallery Touch Pool Bizarre & Beautiful Dangerous & Deadly Riverbank 'Gator Bayou Amazon Rain Forest Coral Reef Jellyfish Gallery Kingdom of Penguins Ray Nursery Repopulation Surrounded by Sharks THE STAFF Staff and keepers

Henn's murals bring seascapes to life Eric Henn         Eric Henn used 1,000 colors, 325 gallons of paint and has spent countless hours painting the 17 enormous murals throughout the Newport Aquarium.         There's a 23-foot Plesiosaurus in Bizarre & Beautiful, a gigantic squid in Deadly & Dangerous, a seascape in the Shore Gallery and a swamp in the 'Gator Bayou. The fisherman along the Riverbank was modeled after his father-in-law.         “I mix all my own colors,” says the 33-year-old Franklin artist.         He has painted murals all over the country. He says he studies the fish and animals he paints and, using photographs, tries to bring every detail to life.         Self-taught, he starts with a base layer of dark paint and works into the lighter shades. Sometimes he paints with two brushes at once.         He worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week to complete the artwork in time for the aquarium's opening.         The Tristate is Goin' Fishin' Going to the Aquarium Murals bring seascapes to life Music sets the mood for 16 exhibits Shop, eat and watch a movie The making of an aquarium World Rivers Shore Gallery Touch Pool Bizarre & Beautiful Dangerous & Deadly Riverbank 'Gator Bayou Amazon Rain Forest Coral Reef Jellyfish Gallery Kingdom of Penguins Ray Nursery Repopulation Surrounded by Sharks Meet the staff and keepers

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