Sharks and Sharks

Sharks and Sharks

I took a chance to clean up a few older drawings and then add a new one.
Over time, my skills have improved, and I can take the chance to make the fishes look more real, and show their natural beauty better.
The Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) was one.  The old drawing was rough and cartoon-like at best, but after redrawing this king of the rivers, I added many details, made the proportions work, added scales and deeper coloration, and met the short description.  For those unfamiliar with the fish, you likely ate it when you ate salmon at a restaurant or or bought it at a store as it is heavily farmed.  The wild fish are premier fly fishing targets, usually released, and inhabit legendary rivers such as the Skye, Ness, Spey, and at one time, the Thames. They are native to the North Atlantic, and spawn in rivers in North America and Europe. Landlocked fish are targets in New York, and some have colonized the Great Lakes. They are now found in the Southern Ocean in South America, New Zealand, Australia, and have gotten loose to a small degree in British Columbia.  They are related to Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) which look similar when in the sea.

The Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas)  really needed an update too. It first appeared in my book Audrey's Amazon Rivers, and then in Cafe Press and other spots.  My drawing was primitive and sported river colors. This shark can live in freshwater or saltwater, and is found worldwide in temperate and tropical waters, including far up the Amazon and Zambezi rivers, in lakes in Africa and Central America, and rarely in the Mississippi River up to Alton, Illinois.  The new drawing is more color accurate, meets the description, and has the details such as fin edge markings that make it realistic.

Then I added the Sand Tiger Shark (Carcharias taurus).  This is a very scary looking shark, but in reality is a fish eater, and is fairly benign to diver and swimmer alike, which is why many aquariums feature this fish. The teeth are snaggle-toothed, and a key feature is that this shark lives from the surf to continental shelf, worldwide.

In Spoonflower, look for my latest, mostly groupers and butterflyfish.
Look for the new sharks and salmon, and two new butterflyfish in a week.


Enjoy tight lines and fair seas!
Bryce