MACKEREL, HAND PAINTED GYOTAKU

MACKEREL, HAND PAINTED GYOTAKUThe markings on a mackerel are so distinctive, sadly they don't pick up when you try and print the fish so you have two options. The first (which I did here) is to apply the ink according to the pattern. The second would be to paint on the markings after printing. I did do some hand painting on this one though. In addition to the eye, I also added a thin wash over the belly of the fish to accentuate its shape. All my work is made by me in my garden

each fish is printed individually so this is actually 9 individual prints on the same sheet of paper

I'm also just keen to keep expanding my practice and I like the idea of making these lino cuts at the same size of the real fish and then working with them in exactly the same way I would in Gyotaku

This one will fit in an off the shelf frame as it's A4 in size

I walk my dogs through Coed Cyrnol almost daily

I've used a high quality acrylic ink to make the original print

After printing as always

5cm and is on a Chinese mulberry calligraphy paper

I've printed the same prawn here three times onto an A4 sheet of Chinese calligraphy paper using and dark blue and gold ink

the paper isn't really good for framing as it gets knocked out of shape during printing

The print measures approx 21x29cm

As standard

In fact my fish come from various sources but are not caught by me as I’m a pretty hopeless fisherman