A Siamese Fighting Fish and my creative spark is back!

Happy weekend! I am soooo excited, after a bit of a creative block where no photo inspired me, l finally found one that made my heart leap and made me desperate for the 4am alarm to ring so l could jump out of bed and start drawing! Seriously, l am so happy to get up at that time because it means l have lots of time to draw.
Now l have wanted to draw one of these for quite some time, but l just couldn't find quite the right reference photo, and to be honest l wasn't one hundred percent sure when l first saw this one, because l didn't think it was very clear, and l HATE working from blurry photographs, but having looked through hundreds of photos of these fish, l went ahead and downloaded and l got such a surprise because the photo was actually crystal clear. One look at that photo and yes, my heart jumped! There was an intake of breath and my stomach muscles tightened..., a sure sign that l love a photo. I just couldn't wait to start work on it.
So the first photo you see is my first full day of work, l have nearly completed the eye, still finer details to work, but enough there for me to use as a guide with the rest of the piece, some of the scales are roughly marked in and a little of the tail fin is begun.

l can't tell you how fiddly this piece is, but because the photo is of such high quality l can see everything l need to see which makes drawng such a pleasure. The second day's work saw more tail fin and scales worked, although nothing is ever complete until the end, each new bit worked means that adjustments are needed on the previous bit. I have already reworked the eye and mouth and will do so many more times before l am finally happy. But l am really loving this piece. Fish have always fascinated me since l use to watch them swimming in a tank in the dentist's waiting room as a child! They are so beautiful and l really hope that l am able to capture a little of that ethreal beauty in this piece.

l am actually dying to show you how it looks at this minute, but l have not taken a photo of today's work yet, so it will have to wait. I have to tell you that l feel so very lucky to be able to draw every day. I really do. And l really hope through this blog to encourage anyone who wants to draw to believe that they can do it. I hope that those who have followed me from the start are able to see the progress that l have made. It is only practise. Anyone can do it if they put in the time and effort to practise. And the great thing is that if we keep practising, we keep getting better. One day l will be able to produce the sort of work that l aspire to if l just keep practising. Everyone can. Just pick up your pencils and give it a go!

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