Fish are a longstanding favourite subject of mine to paint, I love the glow and flash of their colours when viewed underwater, and their beautiful movements. This shoal of herring swims in a mesmerising non-stop circle at the Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary. The herring are local, scooped up from the water of Loch Creran, just outside the sanctuary near Oban in Argyll.
Herring used to be called Silver Darlings, and they used to exist in unbelievably vast numbers; the word herring comes from the Old German for “multitude”. Like so many species which used to be so abundant, however, the herring was over exploited by people, overfished to virtual extinction, and the fishing industry surrounding it crashed. The silver darlings are now relatively rare, although there are reports of slight recovery.
I filmed and photographed the fish, then painted them back at my studio.
The painting is for sale on my online shop here.
