Eye-catching Deep Hawaii Art: Unframed "squidward Inks" Pelagic Squid Gyotaku Guaranteed [WCNS6dt5]

Artist: Deep Hawaii Art
Title: Unframed "Squidward Inks" Pelagic Squid Gyotaku
Medium:  Kristin started with a reproduction of an original on cold press paper and added in all details with Micron ink pens and Prismacolors.  She then added all the inkings with acrylics, creating a uniquely individual piece.  
Size: 20" x 24" (mounted; black mat)

Gyotaku is a traditional Japanese style of fish printing where each original piece of art is taken right from the squid. Kristin applies acrylic paint to the actual squid then presses rice paper onto the specimen to receive the paint. She then adds in details! Each squid is eaten or used for bait afterwards. 

Fun facts from Kristin: 

"I created this Gyotaku piece from a squid that was to be used for bait.  There are several nearshore squid species that can be found in Hawaii, however this individual was likely caught far offshore in the great depths of the pacific.  Pelagic squid embark in diurnal vertical migration each day.  These animals move up from the deep, open ocean to shallower water near the surface every evening to feed and then return to deep waters by morning.  Similar species of squid are found as deep as 3,000 feet!  Squid, like octopus have chromataphores, which are color changing skin cells, that allow the animal to change their colors and patterns quickly and drastically.  Chromatophores allow the squid to camouflage itself and aid in communication.   Pictured is a different species of squid found here in Hawaii that can be seen with a beautiful pattern via its chromatophores.  Squid also differ from octopus in that they have 8 arms and 2 tentacles!  Arms of a cephalopod have suction cups the entire length, while tentacles only have suction cups near the end.  I chose to do this piece in more of a traditional Japanese gyotaku method: black and white with very little detail added."