Mackerel | Marine Portraits Watercolor

An Echo of Tides & Stripes

First painted more than two decades ago as part of a marine naturalist study for her father, this Mackerel gouache watercolor by CEDAR Y SAND founder Stacey Testa is a quiet celebration of one of the ocean’s most beautifully patterned fish. Its distinctive striping, silver-blue sheen, and alert silhouette are rendered with careful naturalist detail. Now transformed into a Marine Portraits edition, the artwork is set within a hand-marbled suminagashi mat whose drifting patterns echo the tides—and the fish’s own markings.

From Brushstroke to Suminagashi

Each mat is hand-marbled onto Hosho paper using the Japanese suminagashi technique, where ink gently floats across water to create fluid, tide-like veining. Once dried, it becomes the setting for the artwork—merging scientific study with abstract motion.
For this special edition, the piece is double-matted, featuring a warm golden inner liner beneath the marbled mat. The layered construction brings a subtle glow to the painting and enhances the depth between illustration and marbling, creating a work that feels both timeless and alive.

Matted & Ready for Display

Professionally mounted in an archival double mat (18 x 24") with an opening of 9 ½ x 14 ½". The outer mat features hand-marbled Hosho paper paired with a warm golden inner liner for added depth and glow.
Each piece is painted, collaged, trimmed, and assembled entirely by hand. Ready to frame, this Marine Portrait stands as an heirloom of art and story—perfect for collectors, coastal homes, or admirers of naturalist illustration.

A Gift of Sea & Story

Ideal for ocean lovers, marine collectors, or those who appreciate original works of the sea, this portrait captures both memory and movement—an artwork rooted in beauty, purpose, and place.

From the Suminagashi Impressions Collection

This artwork belongs to Marine Portraits, a series within Suminagashi Impressions, where gouache paintings of marine life are paired with suminagashi-marbled mats. The collection includes Blackfin Tuna, Mutton Snapper, Cooked Lobstah, Great Blue Shark, and now Mackerel—each one uniquely painted and reimagined with CEDAR Y SAND’s signature marbled paper. All pieces are designed, painted, and finished exclusively by CEDAR Y SAND in East Hampton, NY.