DEMONSTRATION The Happiness of the Fish ▲ ◀

The Happiness of the Fish is a philosophical story about two monks, Zhuangzi and Huizi, who were standing on a bridge over the Hao River watching the fish frolicking beneath them. When one monk observed how happy they looked, the other retorted that he can’t know that for he’s not a fish! There follows a wonderful zen discourse that can be interpreted in many ways. I have often depicted this inspirational story and swear I know when fish are happy – for example to see the sun, to play in the shadows, to frolic in the rain, et cetera.

MATERIALS

● Watercolour paints

● Bockingford green tinted paper, 300gsm

● Brushes: hake, rat-hair brush, medium wolf-hair brush, traceur

● Scalpel, masking fluid, sponge

STAGE ONE

On the right are my tools: a hake brush, a scalpel for scratching out scales, a rat-hair brush, a medium-size wolf-hair brush, a traceur, a sponge for wiping in the fish, masking fluid. Colours include indigo and perylene green. In the palette is a selection of oranges and yellows and some May green. To the left is a brief watercolour sketch of the composition

STAGE TWO

Using the traceur and a mixture of indigo and perylene green, I drew the lilies. The lily flowers were masked out using low-tack masking tape (ProDec). The image needs to be done as spontaneously as possible, but still needs careful planning

STAGE THREE

I masked out to the inside edge of the lilies with great care, because Bockingford paper – like many other papers – tends to delaminate when the tape is removed. To further de-tack the tape I stuck it to my clothes before applying it to the image. I also masked out the fish using masking fluid and a sponge. I lightly soaked the sponge before applying the fluid