This step stool was a commission for a little girl named Lucy, It was so much fun to paint. Fish are so colorful! All the fish I painted are based on real sea life, except for the Mermaid (of course!). I included a wide variety of fish such as a Clown fish, a Tiger fish, gold fish and an Octopus. I also painted some Jelly fish, Angel fish, Sea Anemones, Starfish, a Sea horse and a Sea Turtle.
The request for this vintage tray (provided by the client) was for “lots and lots of scallop shells”. I tried to paint them as if they were randomly scattered on the tray to avoid making the piece look like a summer camp project of glued-down shells. I included a star fish as well as a variety of sizes and kinds of shells, all facing many directions. I had an actual shell or critter model for every item I painted. One of my models was an enormous orange shell. If you look at my Scallop Shell Lazy Susan you will see the inside of this same shell which is actually purple and white! The tray has a glass insert that protects all my painted shells. I did not change the nice mahogany finish of the rim or the background surface, I merely touched up a couple bad spots and sealed the entire piece. I also painted the handles metallic gold.
