Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Repairing a Taxidermy Fish and Vote for a Color


Last year, Dan brought home a big sailfish.





He was driving around and a neighbor had thrown away 
a very battered trophy fish.
It was about 7 feet long.
She had seen better days.

This fish had Paris Hilton stickers on her, 
tabs from where party lights were once strung,
she had really been a party girl at one point.

All of her fins were broken off.
Dan thought we could try to restore her,
so he hung her in the garage.
This spring he set out to finally do it.





Mind you, these are not conventional methods.
But, we are resourceful people and make our own ways.

1) He spackled all rough areas with regular household wall spackle





2) He rebuilt the back tail fin from a flattened paper towel roll





3) He rebuilt fins with pieces of cut paneling that he jigged out





4) He added ridges to the paneling with glue to mimick spines and details.





5) He primed the fish with primer





6) We painted her high-gloss white





We really couldn't decide on a final color-
Dan wanted me to recreate the natural ocean blue tones on the fish's skin.
Since this is no longer an authentic fish, I wanted to go more bold or modern,
like a bright all-over lemon yellow.
We had to get her out of the garage for now,
 but she will resurface again in a future post with some final paint.





Here, she sits on our sons' bedroom wall with a bolt.
An antique yellow fishing pole sits underneath.
For now, she's Dan's Big White Fish.
We are in the process of redecorating the boys' room with more 
seaside/navigation-oriented decor.
We know it's not like a professionally done fish,
but the boys don't care!

So what is the vote?
1) ocean-blue natural patterns
or 
2)all-over lemon-yellow
?
Or do you have a different idea to offer up to us?


Sharing this week with:

Tuesday:
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Wednesday:
Savvy Southern Style's WOW Us Wednesday
What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Friday:
Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

Saturday:
Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk Interiors

9 comments:

Artsy VaVa said...

I LOVE the fish. It looks so much better painted. I'd love to run across a fish like that...all we see around here are bass! Pinning.

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

I guess I would go with the ocean color tones. That's just me.

SImple and Serene Living said...

Love your ingenuity. I think ocean colors :)

Low Tide High Style said...

Wow, that took some imagination and determination, it looks great! Could you do an iridescent color of some sort...blues and greens, maybe flecks of mica?

Kat

Red Rose Alley said...

Oh my, he has done a fine job restoring this wonderful fish. There is nothing like the tones of the ocean (aqua and blue) to set off a more genuine look. I guess it depends on the colors you have in your home. Please tell husband he did an amazing job. So glad the kids like it.

Love,
~Sheri

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

How amazing! I decorate with a lot of nautical touches here in Florida! I would probably go with some blue tones but it looks good all white, too! Great job on the restoration!

NanaDiana said...

Do I really want to get in the middle of a hubby/wife color choice? lol Will you hate me if I say ocean blue? He did a really great job restoring her-wow! That was quite a job-xo Diana

Melodee said...

what a cool idea for your son's room? I like the plain or the ocean blue..either way it just says "boy's room" all the way!

Tammy @ A Walk in the Countryside said...

Okay, now I know that if I come across a "stuffed" fish to get it! It wouldn't have found a home with me based on how it originally looked but after I see it painted, now that's another story! I love it! Painting it white made all the difference in my opinion!

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