pool party

This fun painting is an 8 by 8 inch watercolor on masonite.

Sleepy Koi

Watercolor on gessoed paper $45.00

This little guy looks tired to me so I decided he can be called “sleepy”. If you have fish you know some of them are always swimming fast and darting around then there are those that kinda hide under stuff and only come out when your not around.  This fish is just a little tired and  he is hanging out near the bottom of the pond.  

koi pond

This is painted on gessoed masonite & it's been sprayed with a fixative so it can be framed without glass. I have spent a lot of time lately looking at ponds and I guess it was just a matter of time before I painted a pond. With any good pond there has to be fish so I painted a few Koi to splash around.
I’ve had lots of fun painting the Monet series lately but I have to admit it…. one of the paintings didn’t quite turn out as well as I would have wanted. Every one has a bad day at times and I’m not blaming my brother BUT… I have told him numerous times “Don’t come over while I’m painting” but some folks including my relatives think painting for me is like eating… They think it looks so easy and I paint so fast that I could do it in my sleep. The think you can still paint well while having a conversation about something as insignificant or nutty as, say.. the problems of ebay or the election or even the compost heap. You get the idea. For me this is not true.
As an intuitive painter I have to be in my own space. but not wanting to be rude… I start in with the painting trying to get back to where I was before the compost heap became so important that he walked across the street to tell me about it.
I’m standing at the easel looking down at my painting trying to figure out where I was going next thinking it is almost done and as he talked and talked and talked, I kept mixing and mixing and mixing. Now, anyone who paints knows this alone is a recipe for a major mud fest. Even I knew when I was mixing it this can’t be good, but I kept trying, I painted and mixed and painted and remixed, trying to make it work, while occasionally saying “ “right” “Yeah?” ” really “ ”Hm”. The only color I was really getting of course was gray and no real values… so after he left, I took the painting outside to dry and this little painting must have had 1/2 inch of paint on it. Three days later and I’m pretty sure it isn’t dry yet. I should have scraped it off but I didn’t have the heart.

Showa Samshoku

5 by 7 on watercolor paper, mounted on foam core. $40.00
Whoa, what a busy day, cleaning up my garden and working on my flower beds, it was a great day to be outside. It was hot, but not too hot. I divided plants and moved them around and watered and fertilized, all the things gardeners do to keep their flowers producing.

Koi's eye view

3.5 by 7 watercolor on gessoed masonite.  $35.00

Somehow the red makes everything seem so surreal. 

Koi in the Wild

Watercolor on paper 16″ by 11″ $300.00

I felt very sad today and didn’t think I was going to paint. But after watching an art video of another artist painting, I got the bug and painted this piece. This painting started out very gray and as I painted I felt my spirits lift and it became a bit more colorful. Its funny how my color choices are related to my emotions.
Art’s ( my husband)mom passed away last night and since her stroke twelve days ago we have had some ups and downs. Thank you so much for your notes and words of encouragement.

Sunshine and peace

16 by 20 Acrylic on canvas 300.00

Watching Koi you find yourself calming down your heart rate slows and you become mezmerized by their movement,& the reflections of the water.

Some of the Koi seem to have personalities which I wouldn't have believe till I saw this for myself. They are very eagar to come when called in hopes of getting dinner. They also have a pack type metality with some fish being bossy and others being shy or frightened.

Koi Impasto

8 inches by 8 inches

I'm experimenting here folks. impasto is like painting with whip creme.
Also, I'm making a little water feature in my back yard.

I got my water lily planted today and it looks like its growing. It has two little leafs coming out of the root. It's sitting under about 6 inches of water in a pot. I'll take a picture of it just to show you.

Koi bubbles

7 by 6

Watercolor on gessoed paper. The bubbles were made by painting the whole painting then allowing it to dry. I sprayed with water and rubbed it off quickly with a tissue and where the water drops fall it leaves little spots or bubbles in this case.

"Koi under the falls"

Watercolor on clayboard. This was the inspiration for a larger piece I started a few weeks ago.

Fantasy Koi

I'm learning some new software. I'm posting my blog just a bit later because of the extra time it takes me to remember how to upload my paintings. This painting is one of those paintings in which the viewer decides what direction they want the koi to be swimming. I like it this way but also liked it in the portrait format.

Koi Intersection

Six by Six watercolor on gessoed wood. SOLD

I was able to get this painting up today at the last minute, I was so busy. The first of the year,I always have lots of work to do to get things closed up for the year, my books and my files, I try to keep everything organized by the month and the year. I just can't believe how much stuff I have to put away. Boy its like work!

I'd much rather paint!

Baby Koi, a painting a day

Koi on wood block
Painted one inch sides no need to frame or use glass.
I have to check my records but I think this might be #115 in the Koi series.

Since this Koi was a little on the thin side, I thought he looked like a young Koi just jutting out from his protective older cousin who he usually glides under and around. If you watch Koi you'll always see the little ones saddling up besides the bigger koi for protection.

"Turkois" a koi painting

6′ by 6′ watercolor on gessoed wood panel, with a very light coat of varnish.
SOLD
The great thing about this piece is that is has painted sides.. so… it looks like galley wrap. I love the color turquoise and when I told my husband I was painting a koi in turquoise colored water he said “call it turk kois ” so another play on words but its better then Koi #110. Which by the way is its number in the Koi series.
LESSON

OK.. so here is how you do this. You buy wood cut into 6 by 6 then you gesso the wood with either acrylic gesso or watercolor gesso, both work well.
Put on at least two coats using a sponge roller, a sponge brush or a bristle brush, allowing the gesso to dry between coats. Sand it down a bit if it’s too rough for your liking. I actually try to give it a bit of texture by criss crossing the brush and dancing the brush across the wood . I feel it gives more movement to the water.

Once it’s dry you can paint with acrylic or watercolor. If using watercolor you have to have the paint as thick as creme but not tacky, other wise it will not appear wet. Once dry spray with fixative for watercolor or spray varnish for acrylics. If using varnish for watercolor, brush on with as few strokes as possible as the watercolor will tend to lift with too much back and forth movement of a brush. You can thin the varnish and pour it on, tiping and tilting the painting to get the varnish to coat the painting, then finish up with light brushing.

Underwater fun

No sooner was the paint dry on this little ACEO & it was sent off to Colorado to be included as a gift to one of my new collectors

A studio tour and an ACEO

This was my painting for today. 2.5 by 3.5

I had planned to post pictures of my painting area today but as I was running behind (its 11:56 P M now) I will give you the link to my other blog and you can check it out.

Thanks for stopping by!


http:shantimarie.wordpress.com

KOI 105

SOLD


This Koi was painted on Gessoed canvas panel in acrylic. It is 6 by 6 and is for sale for $50.00 Since it’s varnished no need to frame under glass.

Koi Ritual

SOLD


7 inches by 11 inches mixed media on paper with a Matt varnish. 50.00

I could not think of anything to paint today and I was pretty busy taking Art to the hospital for his weekly appointment and then taking him to two different cities( in different directions) to get his prescriptions and other medical stuff so I didn’t get home till 2pm. I also had to mail off my paintings which were sold this week and I usually have the mail girl stop by the house and get the packages ( I buy postage thru pay pal or USPS.com) but she came too early and I had to stand in line at the post office. I barely made it at 4:45 and they close at five o clock. The guy says to everyone in line if they aren’t stamped by five o’clock they will have to come back… Everyone and their mother was there and I wanted to say… People, why are you still doing this…you can buy postage on line.

"Koi Circle" a watercolor on wood panel painting

40.0- plus $5.5 shipping
This little koi is painted on wood its also has a fixative (satin) covering the surface to give it some water resistance and may be hung without a frame. The sides are painted as well as the front and is 3/4 of an inch thick. It almost looks like a small gallery wrapped painting. This painting can be turned upside down or on its side as it’s basically a circle. I’ll let the viewer decide which way they like the little fish to be swimming.

This will be the first in a series of painting on these Wood panels and I’lll be painting them and exploring ways to utilize this size and shape as well as this new surface. I purchased 10 panels so you will be seeing this format in the next several weeks.

If you would like to know how this watercolor was created on wood here are the basic steps.
1. Paint 3 coats of gesso on to the wood panel allowing each coat to dry between applications. I did not sand the wood between coats because I like the texture. You may sand it down or rather than using a brush you may use a roller if you prefer a very flat surface. But…you may have to use more coats if you apply it thinly. A roller application is usually thinner
2. Using water color (thickly) or if you wish, acrylic paint… just paint the painting the way you usually would any watercolor. I don’t draw my koi first but usually go fishing for them. I paint the background and pull out the fish from the background. Drawing would work very well if you want to draw your fish on the surface. Gesso will take graphite and many other drawing mediums. The beauty of this surface is you can pull the color back out to the bright white of the gessoed surface, its very forgiving. You can also paint gesso over the painting if you feel its a disaster and start over. How great is that?
After the painting is complete, allow to dry and spray a watercolor fixative over the entire area and then allow to dry again.

"Nosey" 103 in the Koi series

SOLD