Walk, Don't Swim
2009 - 11"x12" Acrylic, graphite, charcoal, oil pastel, on wood.
Finished with three coats of Krylon Kamar Varnish #1312
(Private Collection - Tokyo, Japan)

Date: May 1, 2009

The animals cannot believe what they are seeing. Not only has goldfish sprouted legs and learned to walk, but now he's performing a balancing act with a little bird on his nose.

This is another fish painting in honor of Darwin's 200th birthday and also the inspiration for the title. There were two knots in the wood that turned into the yellow and green fish. If you look closely at the photo below, you can see the knots.

Wood continues to be my favorite material to paint on. The bird and one eyed animal on the left were drawn over coarsely sanded wood. I also used a razor blade to scrape away some wood. A razor blade was also used for the animals and tree along the bottom. There are a lot of sandpaper and razor blade scratches in the blue area as well. You can see some of this in the photo below.

Here is a larger, detailed photo: