Betta Fish

   

So, I went fishing and didn't catch anything.  As a consolation, I painted this fish.  Ok, thats not actually how the story goes.  I did go fishing.  I didn't catch anything.  I did have fun fishing with my children.  That fishing trip had nothing to do with this painting.

I've been meaning to paint a betta for quite some time.  My friends over at Doodlewash painted one about the time I was getting started.  I didn't want to post mine close to the time that that one was painted.   So I waited.  Finally, I was kicking around the studio the other day when I came across the reference photo for this.  Finally, I had to paint it.  I will admit that the background needs a bit of work.  I wanted a really mottled background that had a lot of interest.  What I ended up with it s a background that is rather plain.    I will admit that I am a bit disappointed with it.  But no mind.  It is what it is.  I enjoyed the experience painting it.  You can too by viewing the video below.

Thanks for the view.  Hope you enjoy.

If you want to see the video in less than half the time, there is a speed painting of it too.

Goldfish

So I attempted a few fish a week or so ago.  I didn't like the way they came out.  Not that they were bad, but they were kind of stylized and not really like real goldfish.  So, I decided to take another crack at these fish.

The ones I painted here are much more realistic, still with a little Michael style thrown in, but a much better goldfish effort.  The three of them together look like they could be swimming around a fish bowl right now.

I won't tell you the problems I ran into while painting them.   They were fun to paint.  I love painting things like this that as long as you have a basic fish shape, your eye will tell you that they are goldfish and you won't even think about it.  Oh, and I apologize for the yellow in the photo.  I obviously had a really warm light on the paper when I took the picture.  If it were a little harsher, more white, it might look a little more like it does in real life.

Well, anyway, enjoy, I did.