Working in layers is how I've approached this painting.  It is as if I have been painting from in the farthest reaches of this underwater scene slowly moving forward.  It makes me feel like I'm one of the fish swimming through this painting with brushes.
On this painting I've cultivated the colors in order to create that sense of dimension and layering.  As you'll notice in the photos there are several values of blues and greens.  I don't use those values alone but work these values together to create additional colors.  The more variation of value, for me, the more dimension.  My fish painting is not complete yet.  I'm looking forward to seeing what else develops...where the muse will take me.

I am posting an update of my fish swimming upward painting.  It is always a surprise to me to watch how the painting develops.  I have a general idea but the details that arrive are a surprise and make the painting more interesting.  The details are what make the painting mysterious and I begin to wonder where this material comes from, not just me, certainly something larger.  For example the design in the screen framing the fish surely calls for some water to leak through those openings!

I thrive on sunshine.  Living in the Pacific Northwest leaves one wondering if summer will ever arrive on some days.  So, this past winter my husband and I spent it in Spain for sunshine and painting.  While there I relearned a few things about myself that I'd like to share.  Its a good day if I start the day off painting or doing some art project for  3 or 4  hours.  By 2 or 3 in the afternoon its time to get outside in the sun and exercise if I haven't already.  This is when I like to connect with nature...  hike up the mountains, walk to the sea, or just look for an adventure on foot.  In the evening, reading slows me down and helps my thinking become more introspective, and ready for a night of dreams.  These three habits, art in the early morning, walking in the afternoon, and reading in the evening became a healthy diet for me while in Spain.

I started a new painting a week ago.  I've always been fascinated with the idea of fish swimming in the air.  That's what they do in dreams, don't they?  Or how about fish swimming up for air like we do.  Fish swimming up is what I started painting.  You can see the fish through a decorative, India like opening.  Just with that little bit blocked in on the canvas I felt better.  I'd caught those fish from my dreams.  I could see them now.  The dream fish were no longer a faint memory.  They were accompanying me in my daily life through the painting.  I wonder what message is in this painting for me?