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Artist: Deep Hawaii Art
Title: "Calypso" The Day Octopus Gyotaku
Medium: Unframed embellished Gyotaku print -- Prismacolors on cold press fine art paper
Size: Unframed print: 21" x 33"
Lāna`i artist Kristin Belew painstakingly painted this life-size Gyotaku of an Octopus with acrylics and 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 octopus then presses rice paper onto the specimen to receive the paint. She then adds in details!
Fun facts from Kristin:
In Hawaii, Octopus are referred to by their Japanese name which is Tako. The Hawaiian word for octopus is He’e and the species most commonly harvested is the Day octopus(Octopus cyanea.) Although octopus is a very popular and sustainable food source (listed as “a good alternative” under Monterey Bay Seafood Watch Program) for many people living in Hawaii, it is one I choose not to harvest for myself. I absolutely love these creatures and cannot bring myself to kill one, but I am not opposed to others doing so for sustenance purposes. I borrowed this tako to print before it was eaten or used as bait. My starting place was the original raw print (pictured above) As I add in details and work up the prints, I name my pieces. Calypso got her name from her Greek Goddess predecessor, whose name translates to: “to conceal, to hide, or to cover.” The name seemed appropriate since octopus have the ability to change their color, texture and patterns in 3/10 of a second in order to blend in with their surroundings. Some other quick, cool facts on octopus: Some species have up to 240 suckers on each tentacle, each of which can act independently. Octopus have the ability to open jars, solve mazes and even recognize human faces! Embellished Media: Prismacolor on Cold Press Fine Art paper
Category: Deep Hawaii Art
