In this painting Lewis took full advantage of the effects that could be achieved by the wet-into-wet watercolor technique. No element is sharply defined, not even the heavy dark lines of the plate or the outline of the tabletop; instead, lines bleed into washes. The painting cannot be clearly read and must be appreciated as a composition of abstract lines and colors.
In the late nineteenth century WILLIAM M. CHASE glorified the glistening, pearly scales of fish in numerous still-life paintings. In this watercolor Lewis likewise extols the moist, opalescent surface of the fish by introducing different colors into small areas so that the fish seem to sparkle iridescently.
