Betty Gerstner's China Painting Information on the Web

TIGER FUN IN AN AQUARIUM

Introduction Date: June 22, 1997 - Painting Completed: September 2, 1997 - Final Painting Posted September 13, 1997

If you've read the Intro and earlier fires on the tiger, you can click below to go straight to a specific fire.

First Fire
Second Fire
Third Fire
Fourth Fire
Fifth Fire
Sixth Fire
Seventh Fire
Eighth Fire
Ninth Fire
Tenth Fire

The Paint Plan For The Tiger Fun in an Aquarium Painting

Recently, I have been trying out a little different subject for my china paintings. Using an animal, often one of the wild cats, I depict the animal in an unusual situation. For this painting, I wanted to depict a tiger playing in a large aquarium. (Similar to the cat in the fishbowl theme). I used Corel Photopaint Version 7 to plan my painting on the computer. I scanned various pictures into files to use in composing my aquarium scene.

To begin with, I took a picture of an empty 10 gallon aquarium and "stretched" it to a size approximizing about a 40 gallon. I had originally used the 10 gallon size in an earlier plan, but it looked out of place with the large tiger. Then I found some pictures of aquarium water and foliage and "pasted" parts in to set up the aquarium. Next I "pasted" various fish to swim in the aquarium.

I originally had a photo of a tiger coming face on, but he did not look appropriate. Someone, seeing the original aquarium scene I had done, with the 10 gallon aquarium and the tiger coming at you head on, said it looked like he had "stumbled" into the aquarium. And well it did. I changed the face to use a tiger looking down, as though peering into the aquarium. I kept the same paws position, but the first version had both paws inside the aquarium. After I thought about it, it seemed that, if he had both paws playing in the aquarium, then he had no way of holding himself up. So I changed it so that one paw was hanging over the edge of the aquarium, supporting him and the other was "fishing" through the aquarium water. I wasn’t sure how well a 40 gallon tank could hold up a 500-700 pound tiger. Some friends told me that if you accepted the fantasy of a tiger in an aquarium, then you could probably accept him leaning on a 40 gallon aquarium tank.

When I was satisfied with my picture plan, I printed it on 720 DPI quality paper. This produces good resolution and color. To get the size I wanted, I split the original picture in two halves and made a file for each side. I printed both picture files and taped them together to get the larger complete picture.

I am using a size 12"x17" porcelain tile for this painting.

Click here to see the picture plan for the painting

(Image Size: 84K)

You will notice that this painting plan contains very "vivid" colors for china painting. Although my final painted colors are darker and the water leans more toward turquoise than blue, I think I was able to get the deep colors I desired.

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First Fire

Using clear mylar acetate and carbon paper, I traced the basic design onto the tile, not too many details.

I used "Always Open", which as the name indicates is an open medium. I may try a thicker, faster-drying medium for the second fire, to see if it will result in a little bolder colors. Because I do so many portraits and animal paintings, I am used to using an open medium, especially for the portraits.
I painted the aquarium water areas with turquoise blue. I used this color as a base color on the first fire, even though the aquarium water actually looks dark blue. The initial application of turquoise should give the water more brilliance in the finished painting. I will probably use more of the turquoise in the next one or two fires, until it looks like there is enough cover to shine through subsequent applications of a dark blue color.
Then I painted the various aquarium fish. I used Golden Red for the red-toned fish and violet and Strong Yellow on the angel fish.

I noticed after this was fired, that I had mistakenly painted the tail of the reddish fish on the right the same color as its body instead of the light blue color it actually was. Also, I missed some yellow areas in the mid-section of the angel fish.

There is really not any graceful way to correct this, so I am just leaving the colors as is. Too bad, the light blue tail of the red fish was very pretty.

I could "whink" the color off (hydrochloric acid), but I don't like to use it, except in extreme emergencies. If not used carefully, it can do a painting in. I used it to clean up some areas in the framed stripping around my black panther and didn't realize that it doesn't do its work right away. I was scrubbing the paint off with a toothpick and didn't realize that I was also "flipping" little drops of whink on the porcelain of my tile around the immediate area. It resulted in little "flat" areas on the shiny tile where I did not want them.
Yellow-Brown was used on the large and smaller aquarium rocks. I left some parts of the rock a lighter tint for highlights. Then I applied a Stipple brush over the painted rock, coming back to smooth it in some areas. If you don't have a stipple brush and you paint furry animals or mottled areas, you should try to get one. They are great for creating a textured look. A lot of the textured look of the hillside in my "Tiger face in a Waterfall" painting (on the "My Paintings" page) was achieved by means of stippling.
I used Yellow Brown for the orange parts of the tiger face and paws. I also applied the Stipple brush to the tiger’s fur and came back to smooth it just a little.
Chartreuse, yellow and Pure Green were used for the aquarium plants, with a little yellow also used in the sand area. I didn't really define that bottom area sharply at this fire. I wiped out several areas of plants that would later be green and also some little "sprigs" by using a small tipped wipe out tool and both the wedge-shaped end and pointed end of the larger wipeout tool. These type of tools are also very handy.
Using the pointed end of the larger wipeout tool, I wiped out some of the bubbles in the water and over the tiger. I also used the small wipeout tool to create the smaller bubbles. It is very important to get these in on the First Fire, as you cannot come back and make already painted areas white or lighter after they have been fired. I may wipe out more bubbles over the turquoise paint on subsequent fires for not-quite-white bubbles.
I painted the aquarium frame with violet. I never use pure black alone to show a black color. Painting with a violet, dark blue or brown on the first fire helps to avoid it having a "flat black" look. Which underlying color you use depends on your taste and the subject matter. I selected the violet here because it seemed that the metal would have some "purplish" tone. I probably could just as easily have selected the blue undertone. I will probably come back in a later fire (maybe not even the second fire) with the actual black paint.
That’s it for the First Fire. The tile was fired at 016.

I have tried to mark the colors I used on the picture of the first fire. I hope they are readable. Please note also that the photo of this first fire has picked up an overall bluish tint. I suppose this is due to the lighting it was photographed in. I have tried to adjust some of the blue tint out, but could not get it all out, fearing I might corrupt some of the other colors.

Click here to see the First Fire painting.
(Image Size: 73K)

Second Fire

I applied car striping tape right on top of the violet color on the top frame on the aquarium so I could more easily get a straighter edge where the water meets the frame. I also applied car striping tape along both sides of the aquarium on the blank tile and along the bottom edge of the aquarium frame (not on top of the violet color of the frame this time, but on the blank tile along the area below the frame) to keep an even line while painting in these areas. The tape on top of the violet was removed before painting more violet on that area (see below) and, of course, the other tape was removed before firing. I again painted aquarium water areas with turquoise blue. I wanted to be sure and get a strong turquoise base before I paint the dark blue. In retrospect, I probably should have applied resist over the fish and maybe the plants to make it easier to get a smooth coat of the turquoise color in the water. I may do this on the next fire, which will probably also be turquoise.
I painted the various aquarium fish, again using Golden Red for the red-toned fish and violet and Strong Yellow on the angel fish. I put some white on the tail of the red fish which was supposed to have a light blue tail. I seldom use white, since it generally does not cover other colors the way oils and acrylic paints do, but I wanted to see if I could define the tail of this fish, which I had accidentally colored red in the first fire. I though that I might be able to come back in a later fire with a lighter color. When this was fired, I had a happy surprise . The white I applied seemed to "eat up" the red that was under it, so the tail is now light enough that I can probably use the light blue color on it. I'm not sure why this happened, unless the white had some yellow in it. (some yellows will lighten some reds). For the light area on the small fish in the middle of the aquarium, I used sky blue, with a little violet on the fin.
Using violet on a very small brush, I defined eyes on the various fish, using the small wipeout tool when necessary.
I again applied Yellow Brown for the orange parts of the tiger face and paws, not applying too much color. And again, I used the Stipple brush to the tiger's fur and came back to smooth it just a little.
I painted more Chartreuse on the aquarium plants slightly left of center in the front of the rocks. Where necessary, I wiped out the other plants.
I applied Mixing Yellow to the little jug on the right side of the aquarium.
Using the tip of the larger wipeout tool, I redefined the bubbles in the water and over the tiger.
I painted the bottom pebbles with Yellow Brown and a small amount of Hair Brown. Then I created a "pebbly" look by "stamping" this painted area with the small tip of the large wipeout tool.
After pulling up the striping tape that I had applied over the top frame of the aquarium, I added more violet on all parts of the aquarium frame. Then I removed the striping tape I had applied to keep the definition of the bottom frame.
That's all for the Second Fire. The tile was again fired at 016.

I have again marked the colors I used on the picture of the second fire. For some reason, this time the tile photographed smaller. I can't imagine why, since I used the same camera. It is a Olympus Digital Camera. And, the overall bluish tint is not quite as strong, but there is some graying (It is a white tile, by the way).

Click here to see the Second Fire painting.
(Image Size: 43K)

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Third Fire

First I painted resist over all of the fish, most plants and bubbles. I may have been able to leave the plants and bubbles, but I wanted a strong application of turquoise (probably the last), and I was afraid that I would not be able to see the plants and bubbles I had already wiped out under the new application of paint.
I again applied car striping tape, this time just to the bottom edge of the frame and each end of the bottom frame, to try and keep the straight edge.
After the Resist had dried, I applied a generous amount of Turquoise in the water portion. (though not so much that the pain might bubble or "pop" in the kiln. I did not see the need to resist the large rocks and jug, as they were large enough to avoid with the turquoise.
I applied a little more Yellow Brown to the Tiger face, making sure to define the tip of the nose. Then I applied Golden Red in front of the ears, to the creases down the forehead and to define the darkened area over the nose. I carefully shaped the "frown" of concentration between the eyes with this same Golden Red.
I applied a little Golden Red in the shadow areas of the paws. I used the Stipple brush, where I felt it was necessary to soften the strokes on the fur.
I used a little Transparency to shape the tiger's mouth under the nose
Using a very light application of Turquoise, I shaped a few bubbles on either side of the tiger's face. I used the point of the large wipeout tool to wipe out some of this color to define the bubbles.
I outlined a preliminary design on the little jug with Yellow Brown.
Using French Black Green, I created some shadows under the rocks and the jug, adding a little Hair Brown along with the French Black Green to soften some of the shadowing.
I then pulled up the Resist. Getting the bubbles was a little tricky. I used a needle tip, but it was a little hard to get the tip to lift the little circles of resist.
Where necessary, I wiped out any rock areas and larger straight plants which may have been covered by the turquoise.
I painted the aquarium frame with Dark Blue. I like to wait to the very last to apply black. I think the other colors beneath it give it more "life".
I pulled up the striping tape.
That's it for the Third Fire. The tile was again fired at 016.

I have again marked the colors I used on the picture of this fire. Remember all of the colors are a little less blue than shown here. (The Turquoise has a greener tint).

Click here to see the Third Fire painting.
(Image Size: 61K)

Fourth Fire

This time I painted Dark Blue on the water. Some paint covered parts of the fish, plants and bubbles. I later came back and wiped out those areas.
I did not apply resist this time. It seems that either way is time consuming, so that the merits of either using resist or wiping out after painting seem to be 6 of one or one half dozen of the other. Either method is very time-consuming for this particular type of painting where there are so many objects which need to be kept from being covered by the water.
The advantage of the resist is, you can see the objects you are covering, so you probably get a cleaner line. When you paint and then wipe out it is sometimes hard to see what to wipe out when everything is so covered with the blue paint of the water.
I could have just as easily used the resist for this fire instead of painting and then wiping out. It is important, whether the resist or wipe out method is used, that no hard line is formed between the left arm of the tiger (the one in the water) and the water area. The area between this arm and the water near the top of the aquarium should be softened. It will later be darkened (but probably not as black as indicated in the source picture shown on this page. The black in the upper aquarium area is a little too strong. I will probably use a dark blue.
Many of my plants are varegated in color because they were wiped out in different areas each time I painted. Wiping out, when there is so much application of paint, can also cause a build-up of the paint.
I painted a layer of black on the bottom and top rim of the aquarium. Again I used the striping tape to mask off the edge of the rim.
Using a mixture of Dark Blue and Turquoise, I went over the frothy bubbles on either side of the tiger's face. I again used the point of the large wipeout tool to re-form these bubbles.
I pulled up the striping tape.
And that is it for the Third Fire.
Since I am painting this tiger only one evening a week, I am limited to the time I have to work on it. If you were painting this or a similar painting, and had more time to spend for each fire, there is no reason you could not combine some of the procedures defined here.
For instance: many times, by the time I have layed down the resist, painted the water and lifted the resist, I am out of time. If I had more time, I might apply some color to the plants and fish, thus bringing up their color faster than is the case in this painting.
This would mean that the painting would probably by finished in fewer fires than is the case with this painting.
The tile was again fired at 016.

Click here to see the Fourth Fire painting.

This time, I forgot to borrow the digital that I have been using for photographing the fires of this painting, so I had to use my regular Canon camera. The coloring is a little different than what I was getting with the digital. It seems a little duller than the actual painting really is. I think the next fire, which was photographed with the digital camera, inside the studio, with additional lighting, looks better.

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Fifth Fire

I painted Dark Blue mixed with Black and a little Violet in the shadow areas of the water, including some of the shadows behind the plants. I left areas of light in the middle of the aquarium water. Some paint covered parts of the fish, plants and bubbles. I later came back and wiped out those areas.
After I wiped out the plants, fish and bubbles, I painted the plants light and middle green, using Pure Green and Chartruese. On a few plants, I used Mixing Yellow.
I painted some shadow beneath the rocks and around the lower portions of some of the plants, using Dark Blue and Black.
Again, I could have applied resist to the plants, fish and bubbles, and then applied the colors for the water. I will probably do it that way on the next fire.
I painted some Mixing Yellow on the light striped areas of the Angel Fish. I painted the body of the red fish, in the upper right area of the aquarium, with Golden Red. I painted its tail black. The red fish with the white tail on the lower right side of the aquarium was also painted with Golden Red. I painted its dorsal fin Black and added Black to the eye.
And that is it for the Fifth Fire.
The tile was again fired at 016.

Click here to see the Fifth Fire painting.
(Image Size: 54K)

Sixth Fire

This time I used the resist to mask the fish, plants and bubbles before painting the water.
I applied stripping tape to the sides of the aquarium so I could paint the water in the aquarium more freely.
I created a mixture of dark blue, Black and Crimson Purple. This I painted in the shadow areas of the water near the top of the aquarium, behind the plants, under the rocks and across the top of the tiger's paw which was in the water, in the area just below the frame of the aquarium. Again, I left areas of light in the middle of the aquarium water.
I painted the stripes on the face and paws of the tiger, using Rich Brown. I darkened the eyes, also with Rich Brown. I used a little of the Rich Brown to create some shadow on the paw of the tiger which was outside the aquarium and to define the tip of the nose and mouth area.
Using Golden Red, I painted in the reddish areas of the face and added a little of the Golden Red to the outside paw.
Then I removed all of the Resist and the stripping tape.
And that is it for the Sixth Fire.
The tile was again fired at 016.

Click here to see the Sixth Fire painting.
(Image Size: 54K)

This fire was photographed with the Canon AE1 35MM camera. I was not able to borrow the digital this time. The lighting is better this time than the last time I used the Canon.

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Seventh Fire

Again I used the resist to mask the fish, plants and bubbles before painting the water. I only painted the shadow areas of the water.
I applied stripping tape to the sides of the aquarium so I could paint the water in the aquarium more freely. In addition, I added tape to the bottom of the aquarium frame, so I could more easily add more black to the frame.
Mixing the Turquoise, Dark Blue and Black, I again went over the shadow areas of the water near the top of the aquarium, behind the plants, under the rocks and across the top of the tiger's paw which was in the water, in the area just below the frame of the aquarium. I made sure there were still areas of light in the middle of the aquarium water.
I painted the stripes on the face and paws of the tiger again, this time using Black. I went over all dark areas of the tiger (which I had painted with Rich Brown in the last fire) with Black. I added some more Yellow Brown for the tiger fur.
I added some more Golden Red, as in previous paintings, to areas of the tiger face and paws.
I added a light wash of Dark Blue and Turquoise in the bubbles area on each side of the tiger, wiping out the bubbles with the wipeout tool.
Then I removed all of the Resist and added some Golden Red to the red parts of the fish. I re-emphasized the details on the fish, using mostly Black, but painting the light tail of the red fish with Baby Blue. I added more Strong Yellow and some Black for stripes on the Angel Fish. I added Pure Green to the plants, using a little Mixing Yellow and Chartruese on the plants in front of the large rock.
I painted some Yellow Brown on the large rock. I added some Yellow Brown to the design on the little jug in the water (This does not show up well on the photo).
I added more shadow on the gravel under the rocks and between some of the plants, using French Black Green, and Hair Brown in some areas.
I painted the aquarium frame areas with Black.
Then I removed the stripping tape.
And that is it for the Seventh Fire.
The tile was again fired at 016.

Click here to see the Seventh Fire painting.
(Image Size: 54K)

This fire was again photographed with the Canon AE1 35MM camera.

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Eighth Fire

I'm finally through with the aquarium water and can now concentrate on other details and touches for strengthening the painting.
I added more yellow brown on the tiger's face and outside paw to deepen the color. Also more Golden Red in some areas of the face and along the side of the paw. The tip of the tiger's nose was shaped with a little Black.
I used some Black mixed with a little Yellow Brown to deepen the shadow on the upper part of the paw which was in the water. More Black was painted over the tiger stripes on the face and paws.
More Yellow Brown and Golden Red was added to the large wedge-shaped rock and Yellow Brown to the smaller rock in the middle of the aquarium. The aquarium plants got another application of Pure Green and Chartruese, depending on whether they were light or darker. Some French Black Green was used near the base of some of the plants. I also used the French Black Green in the shadows between the plants and under the rocks.
I added Yellow Brown and Golden Red to the little jug to define its roundness.
All of the aquarium fish got another application of the same colors which had previously been applied, with care taken to define the lines on each one. I tried to be sure and leave any highlights on the fish.
The foam on either side of the Tiger's head was further defined and darkened with Dark Blue and Turquoise. Then I wiped out some of the bubbles with the rounded point of the larger wipeout tool.
A mixture of Turquoise, Dark Blue and a little Cool Shadow was used to create the puddles of spilled water around the base of the aquarium. After the shapes of the puddles were painted, I went over those areas in vertical strokes of various colors which might be reflected from the aquarium. For these reflections I randomly painted Pure Green, Mixing Yellow, Yellow Brown and Golden Red and a little French Black Green. The decision for where to paint a particular color was made by looking at the area of the aquarium above that puddle section and trying to paint in colors likely to be reflected there. After I painted these vertical strokes of color here and there, I lightly brushed through them with several thin horizontal and curved strokes, using a brush which, although it had some oil, had no paint color. This resulted in a "soft wipeout" in the water where each stroke was made, simulating small ripples in the puddles.
In the middle puddle, I created a few bubbles, using Turquoise and Dark Blue to make rounded shapes and then wiping out highlights. The lower edges of the bubbles were kept straight to create half-cylinders, as though they were floating on the top of the puddles. They were created in different sizes with some grouped together, creating about 4 or 5 bubbles in all.
French Black Green was used in the puddles near the base of the aquarium frame for shadows.
And that is it for the Eighth Fire.
The tile was again fired at 016.

Click here to see the Eighth Fire painting.
(Image Size: 62K)

This fire was photographed with the digital camera.

Ninth Fire

Using Transparency, I laid in the color for the table or surface on which the aquarium is resting.
Hair brown was painted around the lower edges of the puddles to indicate shadows.
French Black Green was painted across the upper part of the tiger's paw which is dipping into the water, to further deepen the shadow area there. I didn't stay right on the paw, but just brushed across and smoothed the edges to blend with the rest of the water. Any bubbles which were covered by this painting were wiped out afterward.
Using French Black Green, I created shadows in the water under the chin of the tiger. More shadows were indicated by painting a little Hair Brown, mixed with Black on either side of the mouth and nose area (against his ruff).
A little more Yellow Brown was added around the upper ruff and outside ears area to further define these against the background.
The aquarium plants were touched up here and there, where needed with Pure Green, Chartreuse and Mixing Yellow.
More Dark Blue and Turquoise was added to the foam on either side of the Tiger's head. Again, I wiped out some of the bubbles with the rounded point of the larger wipeout tool.
More French Black Green was applied to the puddles near the base of the aquarium frame to further deepen these shadows.
More Black was painted over the already black stripes on all parts of the tiger.
Shadow areas in the plants were further deepened with French Black Green.
And that is it for the Ninth Fire.
The tile was again fired at 016.

Click here to see the Ninth Fire painting.
(Image Size: 76K)

This fire was photographed with the digital camera.

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Tenth Fire

Rich Brown was painted in the shadow areas of the large rock, especially under the tiger's paw.
Pure Green, Chartreuse, and Mixing Yellow were applied, where necessary on the plants.
More Yellow Brown and Golden Red were applied to the tiger's face and paws to deepen this color.
I applied Rich Brown to round out and create shadowing on the tiger's paws.
More French Black Green (mixed with Rich Brown) was painted on the upper shadow of the tiger's paw in the water. (Be sure and wipe out bubbles afterward)
More Golden Red and Yellow Brown were painted on the little jug to further round out its shape.
French Black Green and Rich Brown was painted in the shadow areas under rocks and between the beginnings of plants.
I added A little Dark Blue around the center fish (by the smaller rock) to define its shape. Then I added Black and other accents of color, where necessary to define the different fish.
Some Rich Brown was added to define the shadow areas on the smaller rock.
More Black was painted on the aquarium frame to darken it.
A little French Black Green was painted under the puddles, here and there to darken these shadow areas.
I added more French Black Green where the puddles meet the base of the aquarium.
For the wall behind the tiger. I placed strips of 1/8 inch striping tape, vertically, at 1 1/2 inch intervals on the background white of the painting.
Then a light Turquoise wash was painted (I used vertical brush strokes) over the white area, behind the tiger, which was not covered by the tape. I was careful to keep the area around the tiger's head and bubbles on each side defined but not too sharp to where it still would look natural.
Then I removed the striping tape.
And that's all for the 10th Fire.
The tile was fired to cone 16.

When i finished painting this 10th fire, i thought this would probably be the last fire, except for painting on the whiskers and signing the piece. when it was fired and hulda, my china painting teacher, and i looked at it, we both agreed, it was done! by the way hulda was the one who suggested the striped background wall which i think is very effective.

I have since painted the whiskers on, using the white paint which Marci gave me (sold by Rose Seivert of Rosebud Perfection Paints), and signed the painting. The white paint was very satisfactory and covered the darker colors of the tiger's face. Rose will soon have a catalog on the new Porcelain Painters International Online (PPIO) web site. I am now having the painting framed for entering in the Orange County Fair.

Click here to see the Tenth Fire painting.
(Image Size: 52K)

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