Ana's asked for a fish and a butterfly. I found an image of a Regal Blue Tang on Wikipedia. The fish is beautiful, but the photo’s background is too dark and too dull. I leave that for later.
The fish, which is mostly different shades of blue looks terrific. The yellow accents are tougher. I use a lemon yellow. The fin took a couple tries. The tail on the other hand is a real pain. I couldn't get the shading right. Carbon black mixed with the lemon yellow looks dirty and cerulean blue looks too green Finally, I decide to try yellow ochre (I’m not sure why) for the shading and low and behold it looks good.
For the background, I covered the entire remaining canvas with a light sea green (ultramarine, a touch of cadmium yellow and a lot of titanium white.) It’s nice, but boring, so I found a picture of coral on the internet (Wikipedia) and cut it in. I needed to give it a base and so I made up a rock formation. It works pretty well, but I learn that if you have a strong background requiring bold strokes, put it in first. The painting doesn’t feel balanced yet, so I continued the rock across the bottom. It's still not enugh. Another web search turns up a seaweed called turtle grass. There isn’t a workable picture to incorporate, so instead, I insert my own “impression of it. Voila! balance.
The fish is very detailed, but the background is a little cartoonish. However, Ana loves it, so it must be perfect.
The fish, which is mostly different shades of blue looks terrific. The yellow accents are tougher. I use a lemon yellow. The fin took a couple tries. The tail on the other hand is a real pain. I couldn't get the shading right. Carbon black mixed with the lemon yellow looks dirty and cerulean blue looks too green Finally, I decide to try yellow ochre (I’m not sure why) for the shading and low and behold it looks good.
For the background, I covered the entire remaining canvas with a light sea green (ultramarine, a touch of cadmium yellow and a lot of titanium white.) It’s nice, but boring, so I found a picture of coral on the internet (Wikipedia) and cut it in. I needed to give it a base and so I made up a rock formation. It works pretty well, but I learn that if you have a strong background requiring bold strokes, put it in first. The painting doesn’t feel balanced yet, so I continued the rock across the bottom. It's still not enugh. Another web search turns up a seaweed called turtle grass. There isn’t a workable picture to incorporate, so instead, I insert my own “impression of it. Voila! balance.
The fish is very detailed, but the background is a little cartoonish. However, Ana loves it, so it must be perfect.
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