Inspiration

Because this month’s promise is about connections, I wanted to work with a creature that travels in numbers. I searched for “school of fish,” and found this photo.

Creation

This seemed like a fairly simple project, but it wasn’t. Painting a yellow subject against a tan-ish background is problematic. I also wanted to show some contouring on the fish. At first, I added some purple, but I didn’t like the result, so I scrapped that image. On the second try, I attempted to solve the first issue by making pen marks and the second by using (orange and green) watercolor markers.

Insights

As I was working, I did not know the species name of these fish and I’m glad. If I had seen “bluecheek,” I would have wanted to put blue coloring on the fish. I’ve now looked at several pictures, and I don’t see blue. (I did use a shade of purple to paint the eye spots, which then was mostly covered with ink marks.)

The pan lines are a great metaphor to show us that each little, interconnected, mark plays a part in building the total image. Just so, you and I can do our small part to contribute to the beauty of the world.

I would love to hear what you think about this painting…