Every detail has been carefully researched and meticulously painted by duBois. When confronted with conflicting opinions from scholars, the artist relies on his own rare combination of intuition and practical logic to present his vision of the ark. The artist photographed each animal and observed its mannerisms; and so he created a painting that holds its own among those painted by traditional wildlife artists. Wanting Noah and his family to have physical features similar to those described throughout the Bible, duBois chose his models, not from an agency, but from people who "looked like Noah and his family" — people that he met in art stores, restaurants, or walking along the street. Referring to the covering over the ark, the artist explains "God instructed Noah to leave 18 inches at the very top of the ark unfinished to provide fresh air for the inhabitants of the ark. After reading various versions of the Bible as well as the scientific and religious interpretations of this event, I envisioned that the 'skylight' would need a covering of some kind of woven material. A ship of the ark's size would require a huge ventilation system and fabric would allow fresh air in and keep the rain out." For fun, Tom painted himself into The Invitation and invites his viewers to speculate on which character he portrays. Hint: It's not Noah! "Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark." ..............................................-- Genesis 7:15