Like a Fish Out of Water. Leonard Koscianski, 11″x12.75″, oil on panel, 2013.
Like a Fish Out of Water is a small panel painting, in oils on a wooden panel. It is an imaginary reconstruction, inspired by a hike in the Shenandoah Mountains. I did see trout swimming in a pool, but they weren’t red. There was a waterfall, but it wasn’t blue. The marijuana leaves in the foreground suggest a dream state. Though based on an actual experience, it is painted from imagination. However, I did do some research when painting the dragon fly wings. The house is difficult to place in a rational space, but is important because it suggests the presence of civilization. This is Surrealist Art, but it is combined with other styles in a Postmodern Art manner. Portraits of leaping fish were popular in the Nineteenth Century, Winslow Homer comes to mind. Though this painting is not at all realistic, it does allude to the realist tradition in American Art, as well as the colorful romantic visions of the Hudson River School.