This
underwater study of a blue marlin coming around on a meatball is the
second in a series of four studies of N.Z. billfish.
he first painting entitled
"Spat The
Dummy", was of a stripie up and tail walking, with
mouth wide open having just thrown the hook and not yet realizing
it's free. Issued as an edition of 500 numbered
and signed prints, it is now sold out
To compose "Meatball Blues" I first of all had
to gather lots of photos and magazines on the
subject.
Included in this research was a trip to the Whangerei
Fish Museum to study specimens, and
sourcing video footage of a meatball being
worked by marlin. Getting the shape of the
marlin correct on "deep perspective"
meant actually sculpting the fish first in clay,
then photographing that with the desired lighting
before starting on the preliminary drawings.
The blue marlin, like other marlin,
have several distinguishing features. They have a shorter
dorsal fin, and are generally larger
and more bulky than a striped martin. To cross check my
drawing I enlisted the help of Dave
Franks- Dave is a third generation gamefishing charter
operator,
who knows the subject like the back of his hand. Aided with his advice
I made one or two
minor changes and started on the painting itself.
The work was done in gouache [pronounced gwarsh], which is a
chalk based watercolour
Unlike traditional watercolour, gouache can be used both for nice loose
wash and good solid over painting. Gouache
is often used by artists when the work is intended for reproduction
because it has a flat finish and therefore is easily
photographed when it comes to making
the printing plates.
Long time friend and skipper of the Norseman, Phil Bendle, with whom
1 have enjoyed a number of days out on the
water, recently saw this latest painting of mine. His comment was, "Yes,
you've got that correct for a blue. And I like
the bronze colour as you've got it down the sides."
The title for the painting
is of course from the viewpoint of the meatball
(schooling fish) that marlin feed on.
"MEATBALL
BLUES" Is a watercolour painting reproduced as a limited edition
of 500 prints, using light fast inks on archival quality paper, and
capturing all details of the original.. Each one is numbered and signed
by the artist. (Size unframed: 507mm x 688mm)
Completing
the presentation is a charcoal blue-black timber frame, with glass and
a white double mat-board. Size framed: (554 mm x 737 mm).
Prices
Framed $425
Unframed $325
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