Trout Gyotaku

I practice catch and release, I did not catch or kill this fish.  I found it dead.

Not long ago while fishing one of our local waters with Chul, we found a dead 10 inch brown floating in a small pool along the bank.  When we finished fishing, we backtracked examine the fish.  I was ready to leave it when Chul suggested I take it home to do a gyotaku print of it.  So I did and placed it in a ziplock bag and hiked out of there.  Within the next few days I tried to make a print of it but all them came out poorly.  So I simply put the fish back into the freezer for another day.

The rice paper I was using was simply too thin and had a propensity to tear.  I emailed Koji to see what type of rice paper his friend's were using in Japan.  He made a few suggestions but none were available, to my knowledge, here in the States.  When Koji made me aware that he will be taking a business to LA I asked him to bring me some of that paper.   I defrosted the trout and have begun using the paper Koji gave me.  It is thick and I've yet to tear it.  Although the paper is good my technique is not.  I am just beginning to get the hang of it but I still have a long way to go before I really make a great looking print.

Two of the better prints.