James Prosek made his authorial debut with Trout: An Illustrated History, and is a contributor to the New York Times. He also cofounded the conservation initiative World Trout with Patagonia owner Yvon Chouinard. Robert M. Peck is a curator and senior fellow of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Christopher Riopelle is curator of post-1800 paintings at the National Gallery, London. Peter Matthiessen is a National Book Award–winning novelist and nonfiction writer.
"Prosek urges people to see nature, and especially the fish he
loves so dearly, in a new light: Forget taxonomic checkboxes and
biodiversity and ecosystem services, and think about a single
creature's life." ~Wired Magazine
“A must-have for everyone from the art lover to the saltwater
angler, OCEAN FISHES is a treasure from our vast and mysterious
seas.” ~The Manual.com -The Essential Guide for Men
"What Prosek asks you to do is to open your eyes to the beauty of
the world, and then think of how ephemeral that beauty is, and how
death is always there amidst the beauty. At a time, in winter, when
most of us will be indoors and few of us will be out with nature,
spending some time with Prosek is good for the soul.” ~The
Art Blog.org
"With Ocean Fishes: Paintings of Saltwater Fish, James Prosek
demonstrates his steady growth as an artist since his well-known
1996 Trout: An Illustrated History, which—although Prosek was
just out of college when that book was published—demonstrated a
mastery of the art of painting fish species with an accuracy so
vivid the result seemed almost unreal. But natural history
illustration, valuable as it is in any era, has often taken a
backseat to painting, a more imaginative and perhaps a more
expressive art. In assaying the representation of marine
fishes, Prosek not only sticks to his mission as an illustrator who
wants to depict species with a strict eye to accuracy of form and
color, but he also emerges as an interpreter of nature into the
realm of the painterly. The 35 marine game species brilliantly
depicted here—in full form and in detail views—glow with the
imaginative suggestiveness of accurate illustration carried out at
the level of Prosek's intense attention, a paradox I can only
imagine the still-young artist and naturalist enjoys exploring. You
can truly enjoy Prosek's mesmerizing renditions of barracudas,
tarpon, blue marlin, and the rest."---Gray's Sporting Journal
"Prosek, who is a naturalist and adventurer, but also a very good
writer and painter, has traveled the world fishing its oceans, and
in Ocean Fishes paints a picture, in words and images, that is
beautiful and yet alarming. As the publisher says, this book
contains the author’s “quiet conservation statement.” ~Publishers
Weekly
“James Prosek’s latest project, Ocean Fishes, presents a range of
big game fish—sailfish, bonefish, blue marlin, barracuda—in
dazzling close-up, with a directness at odds with the genre’s
history of artful subterfuge. The fish are life-size and alive in
their glistening particulars. Prosek, an expert fisherman who has
written and illustrated several books on aquatic life, handles his
medium—watercolor; appropriately—with masterful delicacy, capturing
the rose blush of the speckled cod, the pearly gills of a
barracuda, the Yves Klein-blue iridescence of the swordfish.” ~Town
and Country
“The book represents Prosek’s goal to paint the ocean’s most
pursued sport fish in life size...The resulting paintings are of
fish that seem lifted from the water and slapped onto the pages
during that time, as only an angler knows, when a fish has all of
its living color.” ~GardenandGun.com
“This is more than a book. It’s a collection of heartfelt art that
captures the interest, the intellect, the imagination, and the
inherent emotions of anyone with an affinity for the sea and a
fascination with the array of creatures that dwell therein. Like
Audubon, Prosek is a master at capturing the natural beauty of his
natural subjects. As such this volume is a master’s piece, more
than worthy of coffee tables and home libraries in every seaside
abode.” ~Ellsworth (Maine) American
"Artist and author James Prosek spent the last three years
traveling the fringes of the Atlantic Ocean, from Cape Cod to Cape
Verde, landing fish and watching them get caught by hook, net,
and--in the case of a swordfish and a bluefin tuna--harpoon. The
result is a stunning series of images, currently on display at the
Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. For those who want to
take the fish home, the paintings have been reproduced in a
gorgeous art book." ~Outside Magazine
"Prosek gives us a privileged place on the deck, a view ordinarily
glimpsed only by fishermen, and brings us closer to seeing the fish
than any of his contemporaries: he literally 'captures the
moment.' The final result is a volume of faithfully reproduced
images...that is both a reference guide as well as an art book that
can find a home in any fishing library or on a coffee
table....searching for gift possibilities...Ocean Fishes is a
no-brainer." ~Midcurrent.com
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