I wanted to make something that combined a naturally beautiful piece of oak board that was being discarded as being unsuitable by a furniture maker, and use my capacity as a pattern maker and mould maker to make an underwater themed sculpture.
The Fish Tree was born! I started by carving a fish in beech wood, chosen for being smooth grained. Then made a silicone rubber mould and subsequent castings in white resin. I used a combination of white and silver paint, over which I applied a tinted yellow lacquer. This gave the scales a gold tinge. Details then in acrylic artist colours and finally a high gloss lacquer to give a wet look. The tree onto which they were jointed was carved in an attempt to mimic sinuous green aquatic foliage.
The wood was then dyed with coloured wood stain and mounted for free standing display.
The fish each measure 24cm long