Well I must say that I was on top form with this painting as it was very straightforward and I didn’t have any problems whatsoever.

I started by painting a very light wash of neutral grey for the duck bill and then added a few little spots of white for the wet highlights.

Next I started working on the platypuses body that was submerged, this had much finer hair than the matted fur that was sticking together above the water.

So the fur that was above the water was a little different. It was a little darker but also had a large section that was glistening in full sun. this also seemed to have a blue tinge to it.

First I painted all the fur and tried to get a barrel shape with a slightly blue top, this is where the majority of the hight lights would be painted later.

I also added the white line next to the platypus separating the platypus above and below the water.

Highlights on the head and tail were added which brought the painting to life and looking more realistic.

To finish the artwork off and make the platypus wet and shiny I started adding lots of white paint along it’s back. This was done in rows so the fur would still be visible. A few dark lines were added on the fur where the platypus maybe had a fight or just scratched its fur up while swimming under branches.

Time to add a little bit of movement to the painting by add some lines on the waters surface to show the platypus swimming along looking for some attention.

Finished artwork framed and ready for my exhibition.

I have a cunning plan with this artwork, I’m eventually going to get 30 limited edition prints made, but you won’t be able to buy them, they will be given away as gifts and I’ll also run competitions over the next few years.