Koi 10 and 11

Today we brought in all the hay for the horses into the barn in time for the winter. It is a nice feeling to get that job completed and out if the way.

After supper while relaxing and watching television I started doing some simple drawings of koi.

I was interested in capturing the movement of the fish as it moved through the water.

To see how the fins rippled and moved as it went up to the surface as well as when it moved down to the bottom of the pond.

Koi 10

I also tried different positions and angles of the fish.















Koi 11

I would like to thank returning collectors Mr. and Mrs. Jiri Spirk of Lakefield, Ontario on their selection of Sunlit Sails (see post on 22 February 2010).

Koi 8 and 9

Today I wanted to do a couple of drawings of koi for some paintings I had started a couple of years ago that just need the fish transferred onto the canvas.

I did my first sketch in the portrait format and had it heading down toward the bottom of the pond after a tasty treat.

I put slightly longer fins and tail of the fish, but bit as long as one would fin on a butterfly koi just to create a bit of interest.

The second one is in landscape format and had the koi rising up.

Koi 8

This one also had longer fins which creates more of a flowing movement.















Koi 9

Perhaps some of these drawings will be used in future paintings of koi.

Koi 6 and 7

Today I was watching a program on Koi and how they are raised and while the program was on I did a couple of drawings of them.

One of the many interesting things on the program was that koi have been reported to achieve ages of 100–200 years with the average age at a little more than 50 years.

There was a well-known red coloured koi called "Hanako" who lived to be 228 years old (1749-1977). Needless to say, he was owned by several owners through the course of his lifetime.

Koi 6

To the Japanese the koi fish is a symbol of luck, prosperity, and good fortune. They are also associated with Japan's national identity and culture.

Which is why I was surprised to find that Japan was not the largest cultivator of koi in the world; with the top five being Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Trying to keep all of the varieties and variations of koi straight can be hard enough, especially since new koi varieties are still being actively developed.

Koi 7

I fell in love with the Butterfly koi (also known as dragon carp, or longfin koi) when I first saw them in Aruba at The Butterfly Farm, but unfortunately with all the predators I have around here there is no way I can have a koi pond on the farm.

Koi 4 - A Work in Progress

Today is a much milder day with the temperature at 14F (-10C), and the wind chill making it feel like 3F (-16C). It is overcast and we are supposed to get some snow flurries this afternoon, hopefully there won't be too much blowing snow.














I had planned on getting this painting that I had started last year (see posts on 18 July 2014 and 09 January 2015) completed while I was at Art on Kent this afternoon, but we had a number of people come through the Gallery that I didn't have very much time to paint.

I will post this painting at a later date once more work has been completed on the Koi.

Koi Pond - A Work in Progress

Today I was doing the morning shift at Art on Kent and took in my paintings for the next show Reaping and Gathering.

While sitting the Gallery I worked on the placement of the koi on my painting Koi Pond (see post on 21 May 2014).

I printed off a copy of the painting and drew out a number of koi in various sizes and positions on a piece of tracing paper and then cut out each fish and moved them around on the painting.

I may do a couple more of these changing the direction of the painting and changing the koi to see which one looks the best.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and enjoy the artwork. I hope you will return often.

Koi 5 and 6 - Two Works in Progress

Today I did another fourteen sketches of koi for the painting called Koi Pond that I had started as an abstract showing movement in a class I took in the spring (see post on 21 May 2014).

I think I now have enough sketches of koi on tracing paper in various sizes and positions that my next step is to cut them out and place them onto the photocopies of the background.


Koi 5

Once I am happy with their placement on the photocopy I will tape them into place and after doing all four I know in which direction the panel should go and at that point I will have the sketches enlarged to the size to fit on the panel.














Koi 6

As usual I took two of the sketches and transferred them onto smaller pieces of watercolour paper which I will post at a later date once they have been painted.

Koi 3 and 4 - Two Works in Progress

Today I am working on more sketches for Koi Pond (see post on 21 May 2014) and did another ten koi in different positions.














Koi 3

I also chose two of these sketches and transferred the images onto small pieces of watercolor paper as I did the first time (see post on 06 July 2014) I worked on sketches for this painting.













Koi 4

I will post both of these koi paintings at a later date as more work on them is completed.

Koi Pond - A Work in Progress

Last month I took a class with Krista Ouellette at KAGS.

The object of the first abstract class was to create movement using colour and shapes.

I chose to use a limited palette of titanium white, raw sienna, French ultramarine blue and chromium oxide green on a fairly large canvas.

With my first lines I set down in an S curve and worked around it through the painting.

I added the various colours blended them, moved them throughout the canvas, changed them and kept working until it felt finished.

Unfortunately, with working on such a large canvas I didn't think to take the time to take photographs as I went through the stages of painting in the colours and creating the movement.

After letting the painting dry so I could move it around to decide which way it would look the best.















As you can see, each direction as its own character and the movement is slightly different. I think I will have to keep changing it around until I decide which way I like the best.















In the meantime I will draw out a number of koi on tracing paper and put them onto the painting and see which way they would look the best.

I will post this painting at a later date once I have placed the koi on the painting.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my artwork and I hope you will return often. 

Koi Pond I - A Work in Progress

This is a small piece I started using a limited palette of black, white, Hansa yellow and alizarin crimson.

I applied the paint with a palette knife trying to create movement in the painting. After setting the piece aside to dry, when I came back to look at it I could see koi swirling around in the water as though they were coming up to the surface to feed.














I will post this painting once I have added the fish into the painting.

Thank you for looking at my artwork.