study of two dead fish

10” x 20” Oil on canvas

Study of Two Dead Fish is a 10x20 inch oil painting based on a package of grocery store fish—two shiny, lifeless bodies laid out in a styrofoam tray. Painted on a bright red underpainting, the image glows with unexpected color: purples, blues, greens, and pinks flicker across the slick surfaces of the fish, giving them an almost luminous quality.

This work continues my interest in documenting everyday objects and scenes—especially those we usually pass over without a second thought. Here, something as ordinary (and grim) as a package of dead fish becomes something worth looking at for longer than we’re used to.

There’s a tension in painting something so clearly lifeless in such bright, saturated color. It’s not trying to clean it up or make it beautiful in a traditional way—it’s just showing it as it is. A little sad, a little strange, a little shiny. It’s about taking a second look.