Original art Gyotaku prints and fish rubbings
Welcome to my Gyotaku internet art gallery. If you want to know more about Gyotaku fish rubbings or are looking for original Gyotaku fish art you can find it here. My Gyotaku fish prints can be ordered online and will ship from the USA. I do trophy Gyotaku fish prints for anglers all around Costa Rica and on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. NEW - Frequently Asked Questions

I learned to make Gyotaku fish rubbings to have a way to record the fish I catch. Angler's photographs can be misleading but A Gyotaku fish print shows the exact size of the fish. Taxidermy can be expensive but the cost of a fish rubbing is low enough to allow an angler to keep more trophies. Unlike marine taxidermy, Gyotaku fish prints are easier to display and when properly matted and framed a fish rubbing will work with most styles of interior decoration. In keeping with Japanese art tradition I print the majority of my fish on rice paper and all of my rubbings are done with water based ink. I can make an original Gyotaku fish rubbing from your trophy catch or you can choose a fish print from my Gyotaku Gallery.

NEW rubbings October 5th 2008 - click here for more information...

* PROFESSIONAL CUSTOM FRAMING NOW AVAILABLE - Less than $100 for most rubbings *
NEW PRINTS - Summer 2008
New original fish rubbings were added to the Gallery on October 15, 2008.

Original art gyotaku fish prints - Spadefish Original art gyotaku fish prints - Black Belly Rosefish
What is Gyotaku?

Gyotaku basically means 'fish rubbing' in Japanese. Gyotaku is the same type of rubbing art more commonly done with monuments and tombstones but a Gyotaku rubbing is a ink on paper print taken from a fish. The fish prints (commonly called fish rubbings) are the EXACT mirror image of one side of the fish, each characteristic of the fish is recorded - every scale and fin's reflection is transferred to the rice paper.

The most popular form of Gyotaku fish art is called the direct method. The fish print is created by rubbing a piece paper on the side of an inked fish. The fish eye is painted by hand after the rubbing is made. A well painted eye can give the Gyotaku image motion, life and personality.

Only a few high quality Gyotaku fish prints can be made from each fish and all Gyotaku fish prints are unique.
About the Artist

My name is Brett Swindell. I'm an avid waterman who has spent my entire life on the ocean. My love for the sea has taken me from my home on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia to San Diego and for the last few years a small beach town in Costa Rica called Playa Jaco. Costa Rica is paradise for anyone that likes to spend time on the water and offers some of the best fishing you will find - year round. To find out where i'm fishing and view my latest work check out my Gyotaku fish print studio.

VA Pilot article by Lee Toliver - April 4, 2008 		Gyotaku artist & fisherman - Brett Swindell

original art gyotaku fish prints - fish rubbings original art gyotaku fish prints - fish rubbings
How can I get a fish print?

In addition to the fish prints listed in the Online Gallery, I usually have a number of new rubbings on hand that are waiting to be finished, photographed and listed. If you would like a Gyotaku fish print from a fish species you don't see in our Gyotaku Gallery or you would like me to make a rubbing from your trophy fish - contact me. I travel between Costa Rica and Virginia and make Gyotaku prints in each location. To find out where I currently working send me an E-mail.

For more information contact the artist directly : gyotakuartist@gmail.com

Original art gyotaku fish prints - Bluegill Original art gyotaku fish prints - Sea Bass


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