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ursulav — St. Snargus and the Trout

Published: 2008-06-10 15:16:43 +0000 UTC; Views: 47306; Favourites: 678; Downloads: 414
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Description The lesser-known St. Snargus was martyred at the age of forty-one, owing to a tragic fishing incident. Having caught a fish larger than his companion, Snargus would not stop claiming that his fish was THIS big.

Unfortunately for Snargus, his fishing companion was a pagan emperor who was generally not a bad sort, but intensely humorless about his fishing. When Snargus refused to shut up, or to recant his statement about the length of the fish, the emperor had both the saint and the fish were burned at the stake. Both were later beatified.

St. Snargus is thus the patron of anglers and looks with special favor upon those whose fishing companions leave something to be desired.

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Another day, another saint! Snargus is a capybara. I wanted to paint a capybara with a fish because--weirdly enough--by special dispensation from Rome, capybara is considered fish if you're a Catholic. (i.e. you can eat it on Friday.) Go figure.

The nameless fish is in fact a cutthroat trout, and perhaps in keeping with the theme of these paintings, I kinda feel like I need to go to artist confessional now--"Forgive me, father, for I have sinned. Cutthroat trout are native to western North America, and capybara are a South American species." But they were pretty, damnit!

Anyway! Original for sale, probably goin' to AC. Prints available for $10 plus shipping, and the whole set of five saints will be available in jumbo for for $30 plus shipping. (I'm also looking into doing a wee little 4 x 6 print folio that would include all five and their respective descriptions, for $15 plus shipping...watch the journal for updates on that!)
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Comments: 165

bunnywithmonocle [2019-01-14 02:58:11 +0000 UTC]

I have no idea why, but is just perfect!

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ScottOnTheRocks [2018-02-06 05:00:02 +0000 UTC]

Hahahhaajaaahahahhahaa!

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colesonm [2013-08-18 14:03:26 +0000 UTC]

Let me say that I am Catholic as well. And many pew-sitters would feign indignation and offense at these, but I love them. Humor and irreverence for all things keep all things in balance. Thanks so much for these and your other work. You have brought something fine to lighten the heart into a generally morose world. Appreciate it

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Luckysweep [2013-06-23 03:39:57 +0000 UTC]

Okay, these are some weird saints.

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Lazytroll [2012-09-24 20:55:47 +0000 UTC]

gosh! can I add this saint to every calendar? I think people should celebrate it's day

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Fyrrea [2011-11-06 10:39:54 +0000 UTC]

I fell in love with this ^^

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Kipluck [2011-09-03 00:42:51 +0000 UTC]

This is awesome and hilarious, too.

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razakel987 [2011-04-09 06:42:10 +0000 UTC]

You manage to make Catholicism seem hilarious.... I love your saint pictures, hahahah

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KaitoAozora [2011-03-18 20:31:50 +0000 UTC]

That trout is just so happy, it's amazing.

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CopperFreddy [2010-11-07 20:27:08 +0000 UTC]

Oh my God, it's amazing!

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GenericallyAltered [2010-09-21 00:07:32 +0000 UTC]

lol i love how he looks all serious,but in real fact, it's a capybara holding a fish XD

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nauth [2010-08-07 05:56:14 +0000 UTC]

Yeah! i have heard that too, the catholic church say that capivaras are fish.

i live here in brasil, in my city a capivara is cumon as a bird, they are everywhere.

nice drawing! like the fish too, i was tryng to figure out what kind of fish it was, but i give up and read the text below.... in fact i would never guess what fish he is....

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tyshalae [2010-07-04 16:03:29 +0000 UTC]

That is the cutest trout ever...

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MommaCabbit [2009-08-01 17:55:54 +0000 UTC]

those webbed hands are awesome.
but not as awesome as the smile on the trout's face.

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MadhouseHatter [2009-06-21 17:15:30 +0000 UTC]

FISHY!!!!!

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xXrocksomeXx [2009-06-02 06:17:01 +0000 UTC]

Somehow these all remind me of the Redwall series by Brian Jacques.

I'd be shocked to find I'm the first to say this.

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Red-Fortune In reply to xXrocksomeXx [2009-11-20 03:56:52 +0000 UTC]

That was my first thought too

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veggiemunky [2009-05-20 23:53:09 +0000 UTC]

I fucking love capyberas! Make a narwhal and a cuttlefish one :3

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can-o-meat [2009-04-02 00:52:03 +0000 UTC]

You can also eat beaver (I know, I know... jokes abound... hehe), because "it's in the water more than it's on land, so it's practically a fish." This got 'okayed' in New England when it was still being settled. Or so I've heard...

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tacidus [2009-03-18 15:29:47 +0000 UTC]

That looks awsome!!!

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Symbi0sis [2009-02-16 03:30:27 +0000 UTC]

This is adorably fun! I just love it.

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sayitlouder [2008-12-05 17:24:48 +0000 UTC]

you have no idea how muck i love this!!!

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pinktiger [2008-10-17 23:25:21 +0000 UTC]

Lol, the fish looks so happy to be caught.

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Vladdyboy [2008-10-15 17:45:14 +0000 UTC]

he looks like a dramatic capybara

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apeman505 [2008-09-29 03:06:42 +0000 UTC]

Yes! The capybara were classified as fish because there was nothing else to eat back when they were colonizing, and people were like, "Umm... they live mostly in the water... so they count as fish."

(You prolly know that already, but maybe someone else will read it who doesn't?)

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Al-jabir [2008-09-16 11:54:17 +0000 UTC]

lady u is brilliant.

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Agatha-Macpie [2008-09-07 23:14:53 +0000 UTC]

the trout is really fun !! I love it

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Seridon [2008-08-28 04:20:59 +0000 UTC]

That's awesome!

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smilysarah7 [2008-08-27 02:39:50 +0000 UTC]

lol, strangly, capybaras are very nostalgic to me.

Always, when i was little, riding in my car-seat..my dad would suddenly point ou the car window into some random overgrown brush and say, "Look! A Capybara!"
I always tried to see it in time, but my dad always said "Aw..it ran away..maybe next time."

It was only when i was around 11 that i discovered that Capybaras don't live in Pensicola, Florida....

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fabbazattt [2008-08-24 20:13:17 +0000 UTC]

this


is


so


cool.

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CarnivalChild [2008-07-14 13:13:19 +0000 UTC]

I love the manic glee of the saint-fish.
Also, if I ever build a church, I'm using these designs in my stained glass windows. With all due credit and money to you, of course.

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EmperorNortonII [2008-07-14 06:35:56 +0000 UTC]

Nice work on this!

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Lurks-no-More [2008-07-10 16:37:18 +0000 UTC]

Your saints series is just brilliant. Also is it just me, or does anyone else think that the trout's halo resembles a lemon slice?

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TinyNinja [2008-07-10 13:01:42 +0000 UTC]

Happiest fish ever! and your crackly window texture is beautiful

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Laphroaigh [2008-06-23 12:56:01 +0000 UTC]

Silly background-story, great artwork.

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Michelle56 [2008-06-23 00:43:51 +0000 UTC]

WOW that's so beautiful!!!! Love the expressions, too!

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Inkspider [2008-06-22 01:22:06 +0000 UTC]

the trout has a halo!!

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Ankhorite [2008-06-20 07:47:49 +0000 UTC]

the halo on the trout!

You're riffing on the story about the emporer and the ungrateful advisor in I, Claudius, right?

And for St. Wombus, riffing on poor St. Joe? I love this series!

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Nighthyena [2008-06-18 23:09:34 +0000 UTC]

lol... So to honour the saint, you made him into a capybarra? Lmao!

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leotheyardiechick [2008-06-14 22:45:42 +0000 UTC]

That is one happy trout.

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FroudTheXenophile [2008-06-14 21:52:25 +0000 UTC]

I did not know that and, having learned that, I still wouldn't want to eat capybara. *is Catholic and also thinks capybaras are cute*

It's an interesting and often amusing take on saint iconography and I think it's funny that the halo around the trout looks like a slice of lemon.

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DruidElf [2008-06-14 05:15:21 +0000 UTC]

I oughta get prints of all these (if I ever get money) and frame them all as a set.

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snobahr [2008-06-13 19:53:15 +0000 UTC]

Does that make him a Smoked Snargus?

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faerywitch [2008-06-13 19:01:16 +0000 UTC]

wait, are you serious about capybara being considered fish?

I'll leave you with another little fun fact. In Louisiana state, even though animal fights are forbidden, cockfights were still allowed (till August this year) because chickens are not considered animals under that law... they are just birds.

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PeridotHorntail In reply to faerywitch [2008-06-14 02:00:07 +0000 UTC]

I know capybars are the largest rodents on earth, but I think the fish thing comes from the fact that they're AQUATIC rodents...I read that somewhere.

So, basically, a swimming rat is a fish...I must say, the Catholics are weird. *coughHenry8cough*

No offense, Ursulav, dear.

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faerywitch In reply to PeridotHorntail [2008-06-14 02:08:37 +0000 UTC]

Actually the way it went was like this:
when the explorers arriver to America and discover the capybara they sent a missive to the pope saying that they could not correctly identify this animal which had hairs but also scales, and lived in the water (which is completely true). So they suggested that it was closer to a fish. The Vatican had never seen a capybara and only had the references sent to them by the explorers so they said "uh... sure". Basically the explorers knew that they could get away with eating meat on Fridays.

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PeridotHorntail In reply to faerywitch [2008-06-14 02:14:43 +0000 UTC]

Well, that works too!

Either way...it's a swimming rat that's now a fish. Oh joy.

Apparently, guinea pigs are their closest animal relatives...

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faerywitch In reply to PeridotHorntail [2008-06-14 11:32:43 +0000 UTC]

really, that's neat!

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PeridotHorntail In reply to faerywitch [2008-06-15 19:44:52 +0000 UTC]

Yes, and if look at them closely, you can see it, too. (we have Capybaras at our zoo, so I got to see them up close and personal.)

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Rocker-Hoz [2008-06-13 17:25:18 +0000 UTC]

That trout looks happier than St. Snargus. lol

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