"Diversity"

15 x 11 image

Soft Pastel

When I first started painting fish underwater I went and took photos of them at the High Desert Museum near my home. The shallow streams and a pond brought the fish into close view. Recently I rediscovered the delight of seeing the fish and being able to take photos of their movements and observe their behavior. The brook trout are beautifully colored and smaller than the rainbow trout. The colors of the rainbows and young steelhead are more muted but they look like velvet in the water. I love the way they seem suspended in the crystal clear water. The pebbles of the streambed are like little gems.

Trout Catch & Release

"Sweet Release"

soft pastel

20 x 13

30x 23 Framed

$850

I've been wanting to paint this for quite some time. It's referenced from a photo by Tim Pask (with his permission) showing a rainbow trout the moment it is released. There's so much energy in the photo and the colors of the fish are bright turquoise, blue and purple. The water is amazing. I hope I've captured that drama. All along I wanted to paint this very large and so am working on a big acrylic canvas at the same time. It seemed like it would be fun to do one in each medium. I also love the natural abstraction of only seeing the fish's tail...

Large Trout Art

"Big Boy"

36 x 18 Acrylic on Canvas/wrapped sides

$975

This nice, fat rainbow is from a couple of photos that photographer Tim Pask sent me. Crystal clear water and incredible reflections combined with the pebbles in the streambed frame the fish and create lots of interesting things to paint. The fish has lots of spots. Spots are the hardest part of the fish to render. I'm not going for a photographic image, but an impression, so I dab them on, wait a minute and then wipe them off. This seems to give the best indication without getting tight and obsessive.

Rainbow Trout Art

"Rainbow Magic"

Acrylic on canvas w/museum-wrapped painted 2.5" sides

60" x 27"

$2500

Well...it's taken a bit, life has been pretty crazy since my last post, but I think this painting is finished. I wanted it to be pretty loose and so am resisting the urge to keep adding detail. Once again, thanks to Tim Pask for his stunning photo from an Alaskan fishing trip to paint from.