I paint a lot of landscapes, but occasionally I like to paint something totally different and painting koi is a good change for me. Not only do I get to paint brilliant colors and patterns as I do with my landscapes, but I get to capture their movement and the ripples in the water as well.
I first became interested in painting koi after seeing a beautiful painting of them in an Asian art exhibit at the Portland Art Museum several years ago. When I went to the Japanese Garden to try to photograph their koi pond, the koi were either hiding under water plants or not swimming close enough. It was very disappointing.
SUNSET KOI AND GARDENS
I finally located a store in Aloha that not only had numerous koi in several sizes, but Arthur, the owner, allowed me to photograph them. It was such a joyful experience to see them darting around the ponds and seeming to play with each other. I took several rolls of film and eagerly waited for the slides to be developed. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the wooden slats overhead that allowed the light to come through, also cast a reflection pattern over the entire pond. I had been so intrigued with the fish that I hadn’t noticed it.
VICTORIA BUTTERFLY GARDEN
My next venture of photographing koi was in Victoria, B.C. when I visited the Butterfly Garden. This was a much more exciting background for the koi because there was a pond with a little bridge that allowed me to photograph them and the only reflections were the beautiful tropical plants that drooped over the water. I finally had enough slides that I could create my paintings, but I had to combine the koi from both ponds to get the variety I needed, ignoring the unwanted reflections and concentrating on the movements of the koi.
Below is my 40″ x 60″ watercolor – “Arthur’s Pond #2”. It appears in the May issue of American Art Collector magazine in the Xanadu Gallery ad. The ad can also be seen on the gallery’s website – www.xandugallery.com.
