Fly (Fish) Friday - The Brook Trout

    I took the morning the other day to put a little paint to paper and made a portrait of one of my favorite fish.  Because of that I have substituted my 'Fly Friday' post with a Fish Friday' post.  I hope you don't mind but if you do... deal with it.
    I absolutely LOVE the look of these beauties.   The brook trout is one of the most brilliant and varied of nearly all the char species.

   The Salvelinus fontinalis - the scientific name of the Brook Trout - is not actually a trout.  A member of the Salmon Family, the Brookie is a close relative to other char species like the Lake and Bull Trout, the Arctic Char, and the Dolly Varden.  I believe the 'fontinalis' in its name indicates that that unlike other members of this family, the Brook Trout resides mostly in cool spring fed streams which is yet another reason I love this fish.  What better place to hunt a beautiful fish than in a beautiful remote habitat?
   To paint this fish I start off like I normally do, with a detailed drawing.  I sketch this out very lightly because I don't want the pencil marks to show through the paint and if I want to erase them later, it is much easier to get rid of a light pencil mark then a thick black one.  

    Once the blueprint is laid out I start to put down the color.  Layer by layer I build up color, careful to blend the right mixes of dark and light pigment.  Of course the photos are not that great since they are with my cell phone camera - and the script below the fish is just a later addition not on the original- but you get the idea. I could go on about the process but you don't want to hear about that.  You just want to look at a great looking fish. 

Winter Brook Trout

Watercolor and Gouache on Paper

@ 11 in. x 7 in.

Status of Original Art - AVAILABLE

Email for price, better photos, and purchasing

Prints soon available

  Also I am working on printing up some Holiday cards.  I have received a few requests to have my art put on a greeting card so for this year I decided to cave in and have some cards professionally printed.  The one you see here is a mock up and the actual ones are currently at the printers.  When they get here next week I will do a post and let you know how you can get your own set just in time for Holiday Season.  There will be only a very limited quantity of these cards printed, priced at a rate to cover the cost of printing.  
   Have a great weekend.