The Manatee

This was a painting for a gift, and I wanted to play and learn painting water. Also, I wanted to have fun with reflected light. As another departure from anything I’d done before, this was a gutzy (crazy) choice.

To date, I’d painted the focus of the painting first, then the background later. Not a wise choice, and a big problem for this subject. I used my wide brushes and a bunch of new paint colors to focus on the background first. My previous painting had been all warm colors, and I didn’t have any GOOD quality cool colors. Blick’s made bank on me that day.

I wanted to be careful when doing the backgound, if I went too heavy or too textured, it would show through the fore ground because oil paint has thickness. When I finished the background, I almost stopped because I loved it so much on its own and I didn’t want to ruin it.

The reference photo was tough to find and choose. I wanted it underwater, but not too busy. I had done some test photos from the Cinci Zoo Manatee rehab tank, but the glass and the extra fish prevented me from getting what I wanted. The second I found this one, I knew it was the one because of the cool surface reflection seen from underwater. The little streak is a pipe fish and it’s reflection.

The manatee itself was the hardest part. The colors are subtle, and the details easy for me to draw, but difficult to paint. The folds, the marks from boat scrapes, the moss – I ended up painting and repainting over and over. I’m still not happy with it, but it’s said no painting is ever finished, only abandoned for a new work.

I had some trouble with the reflections in that I kept making them too bright, and too sharp. They needed a blur and muting to fade into the background and feel like under water instead of on top of it.

I have some more in process photos on Facebook that I have to find and pull down. When I do, I’ll upload them here.