Fish Art et Facts was a project I led with links to the hashtag FishyFriday on Twitter. The original purpose of the project was to draw awareness to fishes, particularly those living in fresh waters, lesser known by the broader public because the species are not charismatic, are not fished for subsistence or recreation, or are not a commodity. I liked to combine the sketches with short notes about each of the species. My observations of people’s engagement with this project along with the project Conservation Haiku, inspired part of my proposal for the FIRE Lab project that set out to bring people together using arts-based methods to know, understand, and communicate about rivers.

As the interest in FishArt et Facts grew, I opened to commissions, and so the focus shifted from lesser known to more common species, including those living in salty waters. I also contributed my artwork to different fundraisers to support scientists, journalists, and students for their projects and travel to attend conferences. I also sold the fishy designs via Redbubble. I still use the fish illustrations to engage with others about the species. For example, I shared about how enormous Arapaima gigas are with strangers that I met at a holiday market in Montpellier, France because they took interest in the fishy design on my shirt.

Below are a few of the designs I created. If you are looking for a fishy design or if you are interested in exploring communication about fishes through visual art, please get in touch via the contact page.