Metallic
silver, spines and surf, the European Seabass is a bold predator that evolved to
chase down schooling bait fish.... akin to a ‘cackle’ of Hyenas hunting zebra
over the African plains. The double dorsal fin of the Seabass reminds me of the
freshwater Perch with its dominant leading spine. This, combined with a mouth
that has the ability to engulf its prey, enables the bass to consume a multitude
species that range from sand eels to crustaceans, and sprats to even its own
smaller brethren! It is a slow growing species with 20 or so years required to
achieve a double figure specimen. Nonetheless, these old leviathans have the
ability to reach 25lb if they can evade the angler’s hook or the trawlerman’s
net.
The
bass is a highly prized sport fish that will strike shore-cast fly’s, plugs and
spinners with ease, which makes for very exciting fishing indeed. It can also be
caught with bait tactics from a boat, but taking Bass close to a rocky shoreline
on a surface popper or fly takes some beating!
I
have been working on this commission for sometime as the customer requested the
work in graphite pencil and envisaged a scenario whereby Bass and Mackerel could
be observed feeding. With this vision in mind I set about imagining an image of
how the composition would look and could be developed. Starting from scratch
with no prior reference material, a visit to a huge indoor aquarium was top of
my agenda. Next up was acquiring fresh seabass from the fishmonger so that I
could study this species up close. Taking these oportunities allowed me to
observe the fine details and make sure I would portray the Bass in its true
form. I have been keeping and breeding fish for as far back as I can remember,
and was also born with a highly contagious angling disability, which I have now
had to accept is incurable!
The understanding of fish anatomy, movement and
behaviour feels as natural to me as a bee sourcing Pollen, but I will not lie
and say the anatomy of the bass was a strong point before this project, as it
wasn’t.
While
on summer holiday with my family, a wonderful opportunity arose whilst out
snorkeling off the Brittany coastline with my young Sons. We had been splashing
around in the crystal clear waters of a shallow sandy bay leading to the mouth
of an estuary. The aim was to capture footage of my boys snorkeling on the
underwater camera - well okay, and take the sneaky advantage of grabbing some
reference of the light rays dancing over the shallow water seabed. We had been
using a row of marker buoys attached to chain links anchored to the seabed as a stop point, when
the incoming tide started to build with force. 
To my amazement a school of young
Bass drifted in from the dark distant abyss and were chasing mullet fry around
our feet. I can still see those silver flanks flashing past like liquid mercury
amongst the dazzling sunrays, and the chain links became the focal feature to
this painting before me. It all happened so fast, in fact too fast to capture
clear footage, but nonetheless the scene was clearly etched onto my retina and I
knew exactly from that moment how I was going to draw the
piece.
From
time to time people ask how did you learn to draw, or how do I start myself? All
I can honestly say is that my apprenticeship only started when I commenced with
drawing the chain links! I cannot think of another object so testing with
graphite pencil because of the curved nature and no sharp angles.
This combined
with the play on light as one link is attached to the next, well; it really did
test my ability and seemed to take a lifetime to complete. The links increase in
size as they come to the foreground, which provides the composition with a sense
of depth. In total there are 73 links spanning nearly a metre in length, and this for
me was a huge undertaking. In all honesty, the fish drawings flowed relatively easy in
comparison to the links.
I'm
not sure you can appreciate the full impact of the drawing via the images below
because so much emphasis is placed on the delicate light rays that pass through
the piece. Combine the light bouncing off all objects within the drawing and it
results in a piece of work that really does need to be viewed in the flesh to
fully appreciate the feeling it invokes.
I
felt quite pleased with this piece once framed in its large pewter type frame
and bold mount. It is my largest piece to date and one that has taught me so
much for my future work. I really hope any bass anglers out there feel I have
done this fish justice. It truly is a bold and very special fish that is coming
under increasing threat from trawler fishing around the UK coastal waters. Once
again it is anglers that seem to lead the protection fight, as taking care of
this species is vital to save future stocks from
plummeting.
