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 1 and 4 - Two Works in Progress

Well it is finally getting warmer, today is 8F (-13C) and with the wind chill -8F (-22C) which is much more tolerable than the cold that we have had over the past couple of days.

Today I had to sit at Art on Kent instead of on my usual Saturday as tomorrow I have a class at KAGS with John David Anderson.














Koi 1

With it starting to snow shortly after I arrived not many people came in, most probably preferred to go home and spend their evening in the comfort of their home. So I worked on a couple of the drawings of the koi I had started last year (see post on 06 and 18 July 2014).

Once I had tightened the details on the sketches it was time to paint in the background.














Koi 4

On the first one I painted the background using French ultramarine blue and on the second one I used Cobalt blue.

I will post each of these paintings at a later date one I have completed the koi.

Koi 3 and 6 - Two Works in Progress

Today was  a very busy day with many errands to run and things that had to be completed, but I still wanted to either draw or paint and in the end I did a little of both.

I pulled out some sketches of koi that I had started earlier this year (see posts on 18 and 30 July 2014). I refined the sketches until I was pleased with the drawing.














Koi 3

For the first one I painted the water using a mix of Cobalt blue and French ultramarine blue, then set it aside to dry. The second one the water was painted with Antwerp blue and Cobalt blue.














Koi 6

I will post both of these paintings at a later date once I have completed the koi.

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

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.

ACEO - Koi 2 and 5

The temperatures are climbing again with a lot of humidity the high being 73F (23C) and feeling more like 86F (30C) with rain falling for most of the day.

I thought with it being a wet day I may as well do more work on some of the Koi paintings that I had started earlier this year (see posts on 06, 18 and 30 July 2014 and 12 August 2014).

For the first one I used a wash of new gamboge over the body of the koi as a base and then while it was still wet added in a darker mix with the addition of alizarin crimson to give the fish a little shape.

Using various mixtures of new gamboge, alizarin crimson, raw sienna, burnt sienna and cadmium red I painted in the orange markings.

Koi 2

I used French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and alizarin crimson to create a warm black and used that to paint in the dark scales on the koi's body, the markings on the fins and the pupil of the eye.

For the second koi I used new gamboge as the base colour for the orange areas of the body and while it was still wet I added mixtures of alizarin crimson and burnt sienna to give the body shape.

For the white areas I used a mix of raw sienna, with a touch of the black mix used for the pupil of the eye and painted in the shadows and the details on the fins and tail.

Koi 5

Using cadmium yellow I added a little more definition to the tail and the dorsal fin.

If you would like more information about ACEO please go to my post on 11 March 2010.

The ACEO shown here are all original watercolour paintings using Artist quality Winsor & Newton paint on 140lb. Arches 100% rag, acid free watercolour paper. They are priced at $20.00 each and sold unframed.

Shades of Summer Art Show and Sale

With the weather having turned cooler and rain falling on and off for most of the day not many people came through the show today.

I chose the two vertical Koi paintings that I had started last month (see posts on 06 and 30 July 2014).

First I tightened up the drawings until I was happy with them.

Koi 2

For the first painting I used Antwerp blue as the water colour for the background. I swirled the paint to make it look as though there was movement in the water. It was then set aside to dry.

For the second piece I used French ultramarine blue with a touch of Antwerp blue for the water.

Once again I tried to create a feeling of movement with areas of light and dark near the tail and fins as though the fish is swimming through the water.

I will post both of these paintings at a later date when they are completed.

Koi 5

Pottery was sold by JoAnne Connell Northey.

Please come out and enjoy the artwork displayed at our show.

The hours for our show are:
12 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
13 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
14 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
15 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
16 Aug 14 - 10:00am - 5:00pm
17 Aug 14 - 12:30pm - 4:00pm

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 1 and 2 - Two Works in Progress

Today I printed out a copy of Koi Pond (see post on 21 May 2014) and worked on sketches of Koi on tracing paper to fit this smaller version.

This will take a lot less time and at a later date can be enlarged to fit the canvas which is 27-1/2" x 35-1/2".

I did about a dozen rough outline sketches of koi in various positions.

Koi 2

I picked two of the sketches and transferred them onto small pieces of watercolour paper and I will experiment with the various colours, colour patterns and scale textures.

I will also have to do some research on the twenty plus types of koi and the various colour patterns associated with each variety so they can be more realistic.

Koi 1

I will post each of these paintings at a later date when they have been 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.