FISH PAINTING

Using Specific Species Stencils:

Other than largemouth bass, crappie are one of the most commonly mounted freshwater species. More common in the south and northeastern United States, black and/or white crappie make exciting and colorful additions to a client's freshwater fish collection, and certainly are popular fish that trickle into lots of shops on a regular basis.

Perhaps the greatest challenge in the painting process is the task of re-creating the black markings and patterns that dominate the overall appearance and give the fish that "speckled crappie" look. If the markings stay in the dried skin and remain dark in color value, these markings are more easily brought back to a lifelike appearance. Most crappies dry, however, with a considerable amount of fading in their markings, and reproducing this pattern with a paintbrush, marker, or by free-hand airbrushing is time consuming, frustrating and often yields inferior results. This is where stencils...

...Continued in the Fall 2001 Issue of Breakthrough.

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