Fish v. Purse Net (unfin-ished)

Fish v. Purse Net (unfin-ished), 8" x 6", oil and vintage paper on wood panel, 2011.

Usually in painting, I am more interested in the way paint is applied, the juxtaposition of color, contrast, subtleties, and how the art was created. This is normally more important than what the subject matter is, why it was created or the story behind the work because art should be interesting in itself and exist independently of written material or an explanation from the artist.
Nonetheless, the subject matter of this painting indeed was the driving force. This deliberately unfinished painting represents an unfinished issue.

The oceans are huge and it is easy to assume the fish numbers are infinite. But those of us on the Pacific coast are familiar with the collapse of salmon populations, and those on the Atlantic know about the collapse of the cod. Overfishing continues to destroy big fish populations at an exponential rate, and some species, such as tuna may not be able to recover once their breeding populations, are gone in just a few years, unless we, as a global society, are willing and able to join forces to implement strategies for their recovery, along with legal consequences for violations. Certainly the biggest obstacle is enforcement of these laws on the open seas. However, there are also alternative ways to maintaining sustainable fish populations.

As millions of people rely on the oceans as their principle food source, the health of the oceans' ecosystems directly affects to the health of the human race. For more information about how to contribute to sustaining fish populations, visit Greenpeace.

Thank you for following the chronology of the paintings, drawings, sculpture, and art of Los Angeles artist Lucas Aardvark.