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New Painting: Catfish (pepper shaker)

"Catfish" Oil on canvas 6″ x 6″ © 2011 Marilyn Fenn
“Catfish” Oil on canvas 6″ x 6″ © 2011 Marilyn Fenn

Finally, here is the companion to the Catbird painting!  I aimed to keep this as fresh as possible, trying to define each patch of color with as few brushstrokes as possible.  My goal was one brushstroke per patch of color, and I can’t say I achieved that 100%, but maybe 85-90%.  I think the fish lips came out particularly well.  🙂

I had this lit with two lights – one from each direction (due to my still life and palette setup), and I think that was one light too many, or the placement could have been better.  I would have preferred that the object’s roundness was better defined through light and shadow, as with the Catbird, but I didn’t notice it until I compared the two paintings after finishing this one (rolleyes).  Next time…

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New Painting: Catbird (salt shaker)

"Catbird" Oil on canvas 6" x 6" © 2011 Marilyn Fenn
“Catbird” Oil on canvas 6″ x 6″ © 2011 Marilyn Fenn

This is my fourth representational still life painting since beginning (almost) daily painting.  This one was a bit more of a struggle than Squidward Tentacles, but three painting sessions later, I think I mostly pulled it off.  I’m still attempting to paint loosely, but a 20+ year-habit of “blending” the paint is a hard habit to break.  I have to force myself not to get too close to the canvas, not to smooth out my initial brushstrokes, not to “draw” with the brush, and not to overdo it!

I’ll be painting Catbird’s partner, Catfish (pepper) later, so stay tuned.  All my latest little still lifes (except for those that have already sold) are available in my shop, as well as in my gallery at DailyPaintWorks.