Ruth had searched for the brilliant colors for this piece for a long time. It is apparently very hard to find an orchid color between purple and pink and that also DRIES brilliant instead of a faded dark color. Paired with a makeup brush for the smoothest background, this piainting did turn out most brilliant when placed behind a silhouette foreground.
The sea fan itself was a rare find in a Dana Point shop in California that Ruth scanned into her computer years later, that made a nice flat printout for her to trace over a plastic sheet with thick paint and a cake decorating tip. When dry, it made a semi-stiff sort of paintskin that enabled arranging and placing just right on the canvas.
Some of the black gritty coral base left on the palette, dried to leave a skin of paint peeled off, which was used to cut the 3D textured fish into place. Many loved this piece and entered a giveaway to win the original. Prints are available so not all is lost. Sea Fans take a little longer to make in 3D, but are just so mesmerizing to see in such a variety of ways.