New paintings and regular art updates.
The closing date for entries for a local open exhibition is the 25th of May. I’m wondering if it’s even worth trying but you’ve got to have a go haven’t you?
I’ll see what I can do to improve this WIP. Working title, Catfish. Acrylic on canvas. X
A painting I did in the 1980s when we still had our beautiful mainly white cat. She would sit and watch the goldfish in the tank, sometimes raising a paw as if to try and catch them, but the tank had a lid and a pump so they were perfectly safe.
I painted this on a board that used to have a mirror attached to it but that was long gone. I used oil paint I think, it gets absorbed into the wood rather than sitting on the surface like acrylics. It’s about 2 ft long and is hung in the living room above the archway that divides the room in half. I often look up at it and smile at the memories it brings.
Koi carp, big goldfish. Did you know goldfish grow to fit the size of their container, they stay small in a bowl, but can grow much bigger in a lake or pond. These were at Biddulph Grange garden a couple of years ago. You could climb down some steps near the top of the lake and see them swimming. I think the shop there sold fish food? But I don’t really remember. They certainly came up to the steps when people stood on them.
I think fish must be able to think. Not just have three second memories, their behaviour makes me think they can learn. I wonder what it’s like to be a fish? And I think carp can live to quite old ages. Anyway that’s all I know about them!
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was fish. I drew a Sixty Seven pound goldfish caught in a lake in the UK this week. It was the largest one ever caught. I think it was a world record weight. It was released back after it was weighed. Quite difficult to draw in felt pen, the colours are a bit off and I should have done a better job of the background.
Doodle from 2018. I think I’m sharing this again because of Ukraine. Ever more sad news. More death and destruction. More madness. I needed to see something calming and this fit the bill. I could probably filter it and change it to a gold fish in a blue or green pool, but where would the fun be in that? Digital doodle in a sketching app.
My watercolour of goldfish I did this April. I just came across this while I was looking back at my previous art.
I was talking to someone yesterday about letting white paper come through in watercolours. I rarely soak the paper before I start painting and I frequently mix up strong colours, leaving patches of white where I want to show light coming through. The way I think about it is that I can control the paint without having to use masking fluid… And it’s cheaper tgan using white paint or gouache.
The one thing that did disappoint me today was the pool, usually there are mounds and shapes of lots of different plants, but with the cold wet May we had things haven’t grown yet. Hopefully on our next visit it will be burgeoning with flowers and foliage.
Still we think we saw a couple of newts in the pond, together with goldfish and dark carp. The waterlilies are growing up and starting to spread. All in all it was a lovely early Summer day out.
Blue sky
warm water
goldfish swim lazily
mayfly dart across the surface
waterlilies open pale petals slowly
the world is calm
clouds float in an azure sky
contemplate
and relax.
I used monoprint black splodges for this. They were collaged onto a page I’d printed dots from bubble wrap covered in black paint. I realised I could make out two goldfish in the patterns. So I used watercolours and black ink to complete the picture. Slightly reminds me of Japanese woodblock images.
Sorry not to have a photo of a goldfish! Having a chat with hubby this morning, and he’d read an article that goldfish can count. It makes me realise how much we don’t know about the animal kingdom. How intelligent animals are. I’ve been watching a TV programme by Chris Packham about animal genius. Birds such as the Corvid family using tools, also otters and primates. So many animals that we are not aware of. We must continue to pay attention to these things. Learning how intelligent life is not just the domain of humans. For too long we have regarded ourselves as top of a pyramid of animals, as superior. We need to be more caring and take on the responsibility to look after them, not persecute them. But not because goldfish can count, but because whether they can or not, we need to look after our home, our planet.
This wasn’t finished when I took a photo of it. I refined the water surface which was not delicate enough. I also did more to the fish, but I can’t find a photo of the finished piece. It was another small painting, acrylic on canvas with gold leaf. I did sell it at a craft fair at Spode.
Mallaband-Brown