WHEN THE SALMON RUN
ACRYLICS ON CEDAR W/RED OAK FRAME
FALL 2022

     It’s fall, the rains have finally returned to the Pacific Northwest, and the streams and rivers are starting to fill again after the summertime drought.  Most welcome the rains, but some more so than others.  With the rains comes the start of the fall salmon runs as the rivers are now able to accept the many fish returning to spawn; this seasonal event inspired me to paint their return.  The works of other artists continue to have a major influence on what I paint.  When inspired by another’s art, the process becomes a conversation with that artist.  The artist makes the statement or poses the question, which results in my creating a painting as a response to it.  In this instance I was taken by a Ryukyu bingata kimono designed by Shiroma Eiichi, the Grand Prix award winner for the 2022 Okada Mokichi Awards and shown at the MOA Museum of Art, Atami, Shizuoka, Japan.  His kimono features “new motifs inspired by the marine wildlife of Okinawa into his designs while faithfully perpetuating the traditional indigo stencil dye technique” (from the MOA Museum of Art website).  The design for the salmon was inspired by both Northwest Coast Native and Celtic art traditions.  I included a Karakusa scroll pattern to enhance the textile-feel for the design.  The frame was made out of red oak using pegged, hand-joined, mortise-and-tenon construction methods.  The Japanese technique (shou-sugi-ban) of charring and oiling the oak was used to finish the frame. 
 
DIMENSIONS:          HEIGHT:  14 ¼ inches
                                  WIDTH:  38 inches

                                                            PRICE $575
 

Gary Giovane
La Conner, WA
gioart13@yahoo.com