From the Artist: The fish on my brother's boat looked so cold and drab, they screamed
to be painted in a way that could show the mixed feeling I had about their death. I love to fish, eat fish and the beauty of fish. As I look at the pile of dead fish and think of the great meal to come and the relaxing day of fishing, I am reminded that it is also a sad thing to kill these lovely beings. My feelings are a mixed blue, sadness, cold and yet relaxing at the same time.
From the Painting Guide: It's one of those harsh realities of life that in order to live we need to kill and eat living things, whether animal, fish, or plant. I believe the key to it all is compassion. So fishing when you're going to eat what you catch sits okay for me; catch and release fishing less so. So what's that's got to do with painting I hear someone ask. Well, compassion in how you treat a subject in a painting has an influence on the result, and on how someone looking at your painting will perceive the subject.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Color and Mood: Look at the dominant colors in this painting, how they create a sense of mood both through what they are and where they're used on the fish. To me the pink-purples around the fish's mouths looks like the blood draining out of their lips as they gasp for oxygen (yes, I know, fish breathe with gills... I'm anthropomorphizing), the turquoises are their scales catching the reflection of the light on the water, the eyes are busy dulling over, their bodies getting colder (and bluer)... Reading too much into it? Possibly, but that's a viewer's prerogative.
From the Painting Guide: It's one of those harsh realities of life that in order to live we need to kill and eat living things, whether animal, fish, or plant. I believe the key to it all is compassion. So fishing when you're going to eat what you catch sits okay for me; catch and release fishing less so. So what's that's got to do with painting I hear someone ask. Well, compassion in how you treat a subject in a painting has an influence on the result, and on how someone looking at your painting will perceive the subject.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Color and Mood: Look at the dominant colors in this painting, how they create a sense of mood both through what they are and where they're used on the fish. To me the pink-purples around the fish's mouths looks like the blood draining out of their lips as they gasp for oxygen (yes, I know, fish breathe with gills... I'm anthropomorphizing), the turquoises are their scales catching the reflection of the light on the water, the eyes are busy dulling over, their bodies getting colder (and bluer)... Reading too much into it? Possibly, but that's a viewer's prerogative.