Goldfish Watercolour Card

I must admit that freehand painting scares me a bit as I have not drawn or painted in such a long time. But I gave it a try and made this card.

I haven't decided what sentiment I want to add to this card, maybe I'll leave it blank. In the corner is my Chinese name. Of course I had to stamp it crooked... *roll my eyes at myself* Maybe next time I should stamp that first before painting on it.

I have never drawn or painted goldfish before so I had to cheat and copy a picture I found online. Credit goes to: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-166232255/stock-vector-watercolor-asian-goldfish.html

When I first painted this goldfish my hubby commented that this looked like a turtle with a tail. So I fixed it up a bit and he's not a turtle-goldfish anymore. Not as much at least, LOL!

If you are curious of my painting process, here are some pictures I took along the way...

I taped the piece of watercolour paper onto a small (self-healing) cutting mat so I can rotate it while I paint. Then I used a pencil to sketch out the goldfish. Before I started painting I used my eraser to really lighten up the lines so they won't show through the watercolour paints.

Started with a light wash of orange and red colours.

Gradually added more layers of colours. I wasn't patient enough and painted their eyes too soon causing the black paint to bleed. Their eyes ended up larger than I had planned. Also, in this picture, you can see how the bottom goldfish looks like a turtle (with a tail, as my hubby put it). HAHAHA!

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~