Original artwork description:

I began painting carp at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. A planned trip of a lifetime to Japan had to be cancelled and, although I hadn't consciously intended to paint in an oriental style, Japan was clearly on my mind!

This is the smallest of my carp paintings. It is in egg tempera paint on an oak panel, with a fixed, distressed oak frame. The carp itself is painted over gold leaf and the paint has then been scratched through to reveal the gold beneath and create glittering scales.

The title refers to the way that the fish appears near the surface of the water, glinting in the light, before disappearing immediately into the depths, like a thought that clarifies for a moment in our minds before being forgotten.

The dimensions of the painting are 9cm x 9cm for the image and 12cm x 12cm for the painting in its frame. The frame cannot be removed and forms part of the artwork.

The painting is signed and dated on the reverse and has a d-ring attached so that it is ready to hang.

Materials used:

Oak, gesso, gold leaf, pigments, egg tempera

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