Hand-Colored Fish Prints
Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), by Mike Palmer, colored-pencil (18” x 24”)
Mike Palmer’s original graphite drawing of bluefish.
My hand-colored fish prints are the flagship product of the Waquoit Bay Fish Company. I put attention, care, and creativity into making each fish print a unique piece of original artwork to be enjoyed for years. There’s an excitement each time I sit down to make a print – adding colors brings the fish alive and each piece takes on a life of its own.
My process for producing the fish prints starts with a graphite pencil drawing. Before I even begin to think about the colors and details on a fish I spend time studying the form (shape and relationship/proportions between body parts). I find getting the form of an animal correct is the most challenging part of naturalist illustration. My objective with capturing the form of any animal is to attempt to maintain scientific accuracy while generating an image that is aesthetically appealing. I’ll conduct study drawings of the fish form until I’m satisfied - sometimes this happens quickly with only a single rough sketch, but often times it will take many sketches before I’m satisfied with the form. Once there’s a rough sketch I’ll start the final graphite drawing where I focus on the shading and detail work like eyes, fin rays, scales, etc. (e.g., the meristics) The detail work is meticulous and I attempt to achieve biological realism with respect to fin rays and scale counts, when possible.
From the final detailed graphite pencil drawing I generate a giclee print on museum-quality (~300 gsm) matte paper and then use professional quality colored pencils to hand-color each print. Care and exacting attention to detail is spent making sure the character and colors of the fish shine through. The coloring and blending process is where the fish comes alive and the uniqueness of the organism and individual art piece is revealed.
The finished products are stamped with the my hanko signature and accompanied by a certificate containing a short description of the fish species and proof of authenticity. Final prints are frame-ready and available to ship anywhere in the United States. Please note that at this time mat-cutting or framing services all only available for pre-arranged local delivery orders. Email Mike (mike.palmer@waquoitbayfishcompany.com) to find out more.
