TITLE: Bicycle Fish
SIGNATURE: Ilgvars Steins
MEDIUM: Watercolour with Pen & Ink
IMAGE SIZE: 10.5 x 13.5 inches
PAPER: Watercolour paper
OTHER MARKS: initials in image
Llgvars,
The head of your fish reminds me of old Japanese paintings/prints of ghosts or evil beasts which represent some supernatural force. One could also draw from this art the concept of “being able to do more than one thing at a time”; the opposite of which would be “the guy was so inept that he couldn’t chew gum and walk at the same time!” Just imagine a fish that can swim and pedal simultaneously.
There are numerous other projections one could make such as: The condition of being bipolar (formerly manic-depressive) and Love vs Hate. MAYBE, it’s just an interesting, beautiful, and unusual painting! In conclusion (at last!) this type of in art can act like the psychological aperception test (MAT) in which a somewhat ambiguous picture is shown to a client and is told to tell a story. Questions are asked by the psychologist go like this (What do you think is going on? What does the fish represent? The bicycle? Where are they going? What happens next?). Sooner or later the psychologists sees certain themes that appear after multiple pictures are presented. Cool huh!
Roy, thanks for your comments regarding my father’s drawing. I am replying on his behalf since he is unable to do so himself but he thanks you just the same.
He lives with myself and my wife at the moment and we are very happy to have him around although his creative energy has waned a bit lately.
He gave me permission to display his work on my website, so I’m in the process of adding more of his art as time allows. Hope you’ll come back periodically to see what’s new.
In any event I found your analysis very interesting, especially the bipolar reference. I really think this would translate well as a Japanese print.
Roy Makoto Oshita December 28, 2010
Llgvars,
The head of your fish reminds me of old Japanese paintings/prints of ghosts or evil beasts which represent some supernatural force. One could also draw from this art the concept of “being able to do more than one thing at a time”; the opposite of which would be “the guy was so inept that he couldn’t chew gum and walk at the same time!” Just imagine a fish that can swim and pedal simultaneously.
There are numerous other projections one could make such as: The condition of being bipolar (formerly manic-depressive) and Love vs Hate. MAYBE, it’s just an interesting, beautiful, and unusual painting! In conclusion (at last!) this type of in art can act like the psychological aperception test (MAT) in which a somewhat ambiguous picture is shown to a client and is told to tell a story. Questions are asked by the psychologist go like this (What do you think is going on? What does the fish represent? The bicycle? Where are they going? What happens next?). Sooner or later the psychologists sees certain themes that appear after multiple pictures are presented. Cool huh!
Nice art, Roy Oshita
John Steins December 28, 2010 — Post author
Roy, thanks for your comments regarding my father’s drawing. I am replying on his behalf since he is unable to do so himself but he thanks you just the same.
He lives with myself and my wife at the moment and we are very happy to have him around although his creative energy has waned a bit lately.
He gave me permission to display his work on my website, so I’m in the process of adding more of his art as time allows. Hope you’ll come back periodically to see what’s new.
In any event I found your analysis very interesting, especially the bipolar reference. I really think this would translate well as a Japanese print.