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Green River Fish Painting


Pagurus

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I bought a small set of paints recently in a medium I had never used before, gouache. It's a lot like watercolor, but more opaque. I've always liked the look of watercolor but I've been more comfortable with acrylics. I thought I'd give the gouache paints a try, and I think I'm going to like them.

Here's a Knightia I painted today, with an attached fossil Knightia. At least I think it's a Knightia. It's not preserved terribly well. I'm planning on painting some more knightia, probably a school of them, then a Diplomystus and maybe move on from there. It should be interesting. 

 

 

 

5c4cd0647d8fd_Knightiapaintingdisplay-1a.jpg.74503c45ebd71777e67bc23ad6ece987.jpg

 

 

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How lovely! :wub:

I cannot draw or paint so always find this sort of work quite amazing. 

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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Great work Mike! I really like displays like this. Having a fossil specimen, along with a drawing or painting of the living creature just adds to the overall mystique of something now extinct. Well done.

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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Splendid, Mike! I'm with Adam on this one--artists fascinate me. :) The best I can do to hide my utter lack of artistic ability is to pick up a camera and capture some of nature's art.

 

Looking forward to seeing more from this series.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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That is great, Mike!  :wub:   Awesome art work.

Thanks for posting this - looks like you found a great medium to work with! 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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I'm liking that - a lot. Wonderful art, and it adds a nice novelty to the display of the fossil. It's a double win. Yes, do more. You've got something there.  

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

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@Tidgy's Dad; @Darktooth: @digit; @Wolf89; @Fossildude19; @Darko: @snolly50

 

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. I occasionally have an idea that I still like after I've tried it. So far I still like the potential of the project and I'm looking forward to learning a little more about the fish as I go. I think it will be fun. I hope I can continue with it.

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Great artistic  rendition of your fossil!:dinothumb:

"The baneful Dragons, O Seas, are gone: Fiends, 0 Earth, have filled thee with the bones of Defeat and Death."

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  • 1 month later...

I've done two more paintings / displays, including a school of Knightia and a Diplomystus. I'm learning as I go.

 

5c7efd3f0f042_Knightiaschool2a.thumb.jpg.056bf3f92917b18fd9ccf14f63c4ecb2.jpg

 

5c7efd24e764f_Diplo1s.jpg.b39e610e92e659dc1ba22b6647f260ed.jpg

 

5c7efd2ab95d2_Diplo1c.thumb.jpg.5b7a30cd5ab31f223423523306236a2e.jpg

 

 

I only hinted at scales on the Knightia, but painted them in on the Diplomystus. I think I made the scales too big on the diplo, but I'm not quite sure. I do like the look it gives the painting but I would like to be at least a little more accurate. Does anyone know how many scales are on the lateral line of a diplo? I've been prepping a couple of 18-inch layer diplos but the scales seem rather amorphous on my specimens. I've seen a few photos from the split fish layer where the scales seem to be very tiny, but I'm not sure if I'm interpreting the photos correctly. I need to do more research. Anyway, I'm enjoying the painting and enjoying learning more about the fish. I obviously have lots to learn,  but I'm making some progress. I also need to get some better specimens to attach to the paintings. I'm going to try painting some of the other Green River fish too, but I'll probably have to hang the painting and the fish separately. My Mioplosus is much too large.

 

Mike 

 

 

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Very nice.

 

I'm working on a project to highlight one of my finds with some artwork. Unfortunately, I couldn't draw a recognizable stick figure but I've found someone with real talent to fill in for that missing skill set. Will post a photo when the project is done.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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great work!

I can´t tell if the scale size is realistic, but it looks really good!

Looking forward to see more fish.

 

Regards,

J

Try to learn something about everything and everything about something

Thomas Henry Huxley

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Very nice paintings . I think you done a great job bringing them little fish to life. :dinothumb:

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16 hours ago, digit said:

Very nice. I'm working on a project to highlight one of my finds with some artwork. Unfortunately, I couldn't draw a recognizable stick figure but I've found someone with real talent to fill in for that missing skill set. Will post a photo when the project is done. Cheers. -Ken

 Thanks, Ken. I'm intrigued by your mysterious project and looking forward to seeing the finished result.

 

 

9 hours ago, Mahnmut said:

great work! I can´t tell if the scale size is realistic, but it looks really good!  Looking forward to see more fish. Regards, J

 

Thank you. I do like the look of the scales and I'm thinking I'll paint my next Knightia with scales like that, and probably smaller scales on another Diplomystus. I'm glad you like the way it looks. I've been enjoying your model dinosaur projects.

 

7 hours ago, Bobby Rico said:

Very nice paintings . I think you done a great job bringing them little fish to life. :dinothumb:

 

Thanks, my friend. I'm still trying to get used to the gouache paint and the way the color is so different when it dries. I do like the opacity though, and it's easy to use. It's a fun and relaxing learning experience. Now I just have to get my eyes fixed so I stop seeing "ghost" images. Those round fish eyes really pop out when I see two of them side by side. Really weird. Here's a little Green River fishy I brought to life: :tff:

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Fantastic work, Mike! I am not surprised, but I am impressed!  :yay-smiley-1:

Very nice, indeed. :) 

 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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5 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

Fantastic work, Mike! I am not surprised, but I am impressed!  

 

Thanks, Tim. I'm always surprised when I paint something I actually like when I'm done. I'll see if I can paint a Redfieldius for you. I've got a couple of good subjects to study, thanks to you. ;)

 

3 hours ago, rebu said:

Looks amazing, very nice paintings. Well done :dinothumb:

 

Thank you! 

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@Pagurus those are beautiful. I want to commission one depicting a large Diplo feeding on a school of Knightia!

 

I agree that your Diplo scales should be smaller. The ones you painted are more along the size of what you would see on a Phareodus. Since Diplomystus were both clupiformes, they would have had relatively small scales. This also agrees with the more well preserved (and prepared) specimens I've seen.

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Please restrict requests to sell via PM.  :D

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The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true.  -  JJ

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On 3/7/2019 at 9:49 AM, Ptychodus04 said:

I agree that your Diplo scales should be smaller

 

We are both correct, it seems. According to a 1982 paper by Grande, Diplomystus dentatus has approximately 82-90 scales along the lateral line. 

My painting shows approximately 35 scales where the lateral line should be, and this is closer to the scale size of a Knightia. According to Grande, Knightia have about 34 or 35 along the vertebral column (where the lateral line would be if it had lateral line scales).

 

So the scales I drew would be about right for a Knightia, but are more than twice the size they should be for a Diplomystus. Oh well. They look pretty though. I'll try another painting today with more appropriate scales, or just a hint of scales, on the diplo. 

 

Also, in this 1982 paper, Grande states, ""It is concluded here that although Knightia is a true clupeoid..., Diplomystus is not even a clupeiform". I don't know if that's been revised since 1982?  Change happens.
 

 

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