Artist: Deep Hawaii Art
Title: "Lucky" The Opakapaka (Pink Snapper) Gyotaku
Medium: Original acrylic and Prismacolors on rice paper. Classic 1" black wood frame
Size: 11" x 23.5"
Lāna`i artist Kristin Belew painstakingly embellished this life-size Gyotaku original of an Opakapaka with Prismacolors.
Gyotaku is a traditional Japanese style of fish printing where each original piece of art is taken right from the fish. Kristin applies acrylic paint to the actual fish then presses rice paper onto the specimen to receive the paint. She then adds in details! Each fish is eaten or used for bait afterwards.
Fun facts from Kristin:
"Opakapaka (Pristipomoides filamentosus) are known as Hawaii's premium snapper and are often served as high grade sashimi. This fish is caught in deeper waters via bottom fishing methods. "Lucky" was harvested by my coworkers in a very unconventional method. While cruising back to the harbor on the sailboat, the captain noticed something floating in the water in a spot previously occupied by a fishing boat. They motored closer to see that it was a fresh Opakapaka still alive, but struggling. Knowing that it had recently escaped from the fisherman who just departed, the crew grabbed the fish via a gaff and put it on ice for an unexpected dinner. The gaff mark is present in the print and can be seen as the dark spot just above the pectoral fin.
Category: Deep Hawaii Art