Tokyo-based artist Yusei Nagashima has been fascinated by fish since he was a child, so it's no wonder that the aquatic creatures have become the sole focus of his beautifully detailed watercolor paintings. Every Friday for the past three years, Nagashima has posted a new illustration of fish on his blog, covering an eclectic range of specimens that differ in size, color, and shape. Rendered in delicate washes of paint with intricate scales and luminous eyes, each fish is a soothing blend of realism and artistic whimsy.
“I was captivated by the form of the fish when I was young,” Nagashima says of his childhood in Osaka, Japan. “How it carried itself in the water, the sparkle of its eyes and scales; the lively movements of its muscles when it was caught, its intimidating expression as its throat swelled. Under the incandescent light of the fish shop, they looked as brilliant as stars on a stage. My feelings since then haven't changed, so now I draw fish.”
To buy prints of the artist's work, check out his online store.
Above: Genus Tanakia
Etrumeus teres
Scomber japonicus
Danio rerio
Carassius auratus langsdorfii
Juvenile butterfly fishes in the genus Chaetodon
Rhodeus ocellatus ocellatus
Sebastes schlegelii, S. vulpes, S. trivittatus
Nemipterus virgatus
Hyporhamphus sajori
Squalidus chankaensis biwae
Lethrinus nebulosus
Fish from Wakayama Marina City
Thayeria boehlkei
Zacco platypus
Yusei Nagashima: Website | Blog | Tumblr | Prints
via [Spoon & Tamago]
