When faced with a myriad, a cornucopia, a rainbow, nay a bouquet of fishes, where to begin?
With a gigantic captive goldfish, of a species I think is called a comet, on account of his (of her) long tail.
I was told that this particular one was recently returned to its pet shop 'home', because it outgrew its owners' tank capacity. I wonder what they fed it. It really is a beauty.
I observed and drew, and looked and sketched, for three solid hours.
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| Swimming up ... |
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| ... and swimming back again. |
Rushing straight in, and trying to draw the whole thing is a big temptation. Of course, when I looked back, the proportions were all up the
boohai.
It's best to start with just
bits of the object first.
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| First attempts |
The tail. Well, tails. There were dozens of shapes!
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| Just some of his tails. |
I mentally laid it flat and drew it so I could see the way the vein-lines went:
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| Exploring the vein-lines |
The more you look and try, and fail, the more you see how it really goes:
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| Tails start looking more realistic. |
Then I became bolder and tried to draw different angles.
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| Exploring different orientations. |
I'd like to think we have bonded. I'm sure my comet is pleased to have some company. Here he is coming up for a nuzzle at the glass.
Reminds me of
John's banner hen.
I always thought that carp grew to the size of there tank or pond.....obviously not. a very handsome fish.
ReplyDeleteI've heard that too, Adrian. I expect that the food and/or oxygen become limiting factors under normal circumstances.
ReplyDeleteI was about to say something along the lines of the tank/pond theory..... foiled again!!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you are working as an artist in the petshop or is the drawing and painthing just for fun?
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting question Kirsten. I am a professional artist. But it's also fun. And challenging, and routine, and fascinating, and educational, and fulfilling, and frustrating, and poorly-paid, and obsessional, and ... well, it's just what I have to do!
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