Almost all of the paintings by Flick Ford are done from life. These paintings are actually fish portraits of fish brought to the net by the artist, his friends and angling clients (see commission information) or from detailed photos and measurements supplied by top biologist/photographers. The "model" fish are selected for their beauty or for their significance to the angler who caught them (lifetime catches). Most fish are above "keeper" size for most waters in the United States.

The fish that are painted are not released; they are kept for study and then eaten - never wasted. The first step in producing these extremely accurate watercolor paintings is to trace the fish on sturdy brown paper and make detailed sketches of the head, count fin rays, scales and make proportional measurements. (fig. 1)

The fish is then photographed with a digital camera and a high quality digital print is made. (fig. 2) Unfortunately even the best of cameras tend to distort proportions so that is why the tracing and sketches are critical. The finished sketch incorporating the photos and tracing is done in ink. It is then transferred to the watercolor paper by pencil with the aid of a light box. With this accurate drawing the painting process can begin. Using a technique employing a liquid frisket medium and successive washes the artist works from the palest highlight hues on the scales and head to the darkest shadows – blocking subtle shades along the way with the frisket medium from the ever richer following washes. When you see white in Flick’s paintings this is the watercolor paper itself coming through, no opaque paints are employed to bring out highlights. This is a difficult and masterful watercolor technique that has to be planned out and executed without mistakes. Once the color washes are finished the masking frisket is removed and clean water washes are employed to blend the shades subtly. Volume is achieved by applying shadows while the painting is still wet. To complete the painting markings and details are painted in with fine sable brushes. Each painting takes several days to a week to complete using this laborious and meticulous process.

The end results of this labor of love are extremely beautiful paintings reminiscent of 18th and 19th century taxonomic plates. (fig. 3) Open and limited edition signed prints are available as are the original paintings. Ask for a price list from the J Russell Jinishian Gallery.