One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish #2

12” X 12” X 1.5”

Acrylic on Canvas

Inspired by Dr. Seuss, at least in title, I created this visual sing-along with reason and rhyme. Reflecting the playful essence of a Seuss-inspired narrative through the directional layout of the fish chasing one another, I designed my layout with precision. Although nothing like my own, I’ve always been intrigued by the whacky and playful nature of Seuss’ work.

In fact, in fourth grade, my best friend Jeff and I were given an open assignment, to decorate a bulletin board however we chose. Our classroom had large windows that ran clear along one wall. They started about 3 ½ feet off the floor and reached up ten feet to the ceiling. Beneath these massive windows was a series of large, three feet by five feet bulletin boards.

We were given time in class on Friday to decide on a subject or theme, create our visuals at home over the weekend, and then decorate our board on Monday. Jeff and I started talking about Dr. Seuss. The Sneetches, Yertle the Turtle, The Cat in the Hat with his fish in the pot. This led us to his book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. We were both fascinated by the rhyme and the quirky looking fish. So, we decided to cover our bulletin board with Dr. Seuss fish.

We both went home that weekend busily drawing, coloring, and cutting out Dr. Seuss inspired fish. With construction paper, crayons and little scissors, I sat in our living room working on this whale of a project using a TV tray as my desk, while Jeff worked on Seuss-like fish at his house.

When Monday morning came, we arrived at school with our fish cutouts eager to finish the project. Of course we had to wait, albeit impatiently, all morning while we did our schoolwork. Finally, after lunch we were given the green light. “Now let's count off... One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.”