1. Abstract Fish Composition

2. Step #1 Create several stylized drawings of a fish using images as a reference…keep it simple, but interesting…no details.

3. Step #2 Draw the fish on a 6x8 piece of watercolor paper and cut the image out with scissors

4. Step #3 Trace your cut-out fish on the 12x18 sheet of watercolor paper 3,4,or 5 times. For variety try: flipping the image over and trace the reverse side. have the image go off the edges of the paper.

5. Step #4 Draw a series of organic lines from one side of the paper (horizontal) to the other. Lines can overlap but keep it simple and neat!

6. Understanding Warm and Cool Colors Cool colors are made mostly of green, blue and violet. This family of colors is called cool because they remind you of cool things like a cool forest or a cold lake. Warm colors are made mostly of red, orange and yellow. This family of colors is called warm because they remind you of warm things like the sun or fire.

7. Step #5 Begin painting fish using a warm color scheme.

8. Step #6 Paint the background (water) using shades of cool colors; adding white to those cool colors for variety.

9. Step #7 Trace over the separations of color using oil pastels