How to Make a Trophy Painting With a Dead Fish

You've finally caught "the big one," and naturally you want to show it off to all your fishing buddies. But replicas are expensive, and having a taxidermist preserve your fish is even more expensive. A photo of the trophy fish is cheap enough, but everybody knows how to hold the fish so it looks bigger. Making an impression painting of your trophy fish is a creative and economical solution, and no one will be able to question its authenticity.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Straight pins
• Garbage bag
• Rag
• Fish
• Sponge brush
• Tempera paint
• Paper (construction, wrapping, rice or drafting)
• Beach sand
• Colored pencils

1. Wipe the slime off your fish with a rag.
2. Prepare the impression mold. Beach sand is ideal. Make a smooth, concave impression in the sand roughly the size of the fish's body. Place an empty garbage bag over the impression.
3. Place the fish in your sand mold. Use pins to keep the fins open and stuff some paper towels in the mouth if you want it open.
4. Paint the exposed side carefully with undiluted tempera paint. Start at the tail and do not paint the eye. Don't put the paint on too thick or it will blur the details.
5. Take the paper of your choice and hold an end in each hand. Let the paper bow downward and lay it down in the middle of the fish. An extra pair of hands can help.
6. Let the impression dry for 24 hours.
7. Add finishing touches to your painting and mount it. Water-soluble colored art pencils are an excellent way to turn the outline into a real work of art. Should you want a monochrome painting, simply add the eye with a small brush.

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