NH Koi

watercolor on gessoed masonite 8 by 8

This Koi is related to the Koi I painted yesterday. They live in New Hampshire and I'm sure their dreaming of spring.

I'm doing a demonstration tomorrow at Cheap Joe's and I'll be painting on Illustration board, paper, gessoed Masonite and clayboard. I'm excited to teach people how I do this and will encourage more people to give watercolor a chance.

Wonderful Koi

5.75 by 5.75 watercolor on masonite, by the way,this piece looks good either way.


Reading this morning made me realize how many people don’t read and how they’re missing this great past time. I don’t have to tell you if your a reader, you understand what I’m trying to say. For a few moments you can be transported to another place and see life thru another’s experiences and their eyes. You can speak with an accent, change your station in society or even live as a criminal. Unlike film or tv you’ll be experiencing the story thru the writer’s voice, the details are always wonderful and the very well chosen words and phrases used to describe his or her reality are unique to each individual. My mother never learned to read and loving books as I do, I’m sometimes sad to know this simple joy was not hers to have.

Under the falls

Finally got this painting complete! yippee, its 24 by 24 acrylic on panel. I changed the little fish on the upper left hand side and put in some bubbles.

Sunday Koi

12 inches by 7 inches watercolor on paper.


Koi and other fish with lovely bright colors.

I was sick today with a sinus infection. I've been fighting it off all week and it finally got the best of me.

I took some zertec but when I've taken it before it puts me to sleep, so I took some with the decongestion included... so far it hasn't put me to sleep. Now I just hope it doesn't keep me up all night.

Thats the problem with drugs you just end up trading one symptom for another.

I listened to my Ipod most of the day, I'm hooked on short tories. and subscribe to about twenty podcasts a week. Its a good way to relax and also to get some work done. I do a lot of computer work and it can be very boring. With my ipod, I can sit all day and it doesn't bother me. My favorite podcasts are ... The New Yorker, NPR, WYNC, PRI,Librivox, & bound off. I just finished 1772 its not a short story, in fact it is very long... but a great audio book.

If you enjoy short stories and know of some pod casts which are free, drop me an email at shantimarie@mac.com

Green Eyed Koi

6 by 9 inches


This is painted on illustration board that has been gessoed. I usually paint it right after the gesso dries. It's really important, you don't wet the gessoed paper first since that will work up the gesso and distribute it into your paint. If you want opacity that will be good but if you want the paint to be clean and transparent try not to reactivate the gesso.

After you finish your painting, just spray with fixative or frame under glass.

Tancho

This carp is a favorite of the Japanese people because the red spot on his head reminds them of their home flag. Very Striking don't you think? 6" by 9" $50.00 write shantmarie@aol.com if you wish to purchase.

Perserverance

I call this persevaerance because I can just imagine three fish swimming upstream trying to fight the churning waters...

Upstream Koi

SOLD
I love the way the yellow koi look with the blue water!

Four inches by nine inches.

I spend the afternoon packing up paintings and getting them ready to mail out. I will be makinging a video of my studio so you can see my little painting area. Its compact, but I'm able to do everything I need. prep work, paint, mat, frame, pack and of course store.


Tomorrow I have to take Art my husband to get another Cat scan. He still has a drainage bag connected to his side and it continues to drain blood. I guess the surgeon wants to see why before he takes it out. Its hard to believe its been six months since his accident.

"Mod Koi" Artist trading card or ACEO

I helped a friend paint a koi today and in doing so ended up painting this little guy. He is almost an abstract koi but not quite.... so, I'm calling him a Modern Koi.

Southern Koi ll An aceo by Shanti Marie

I love to paint these little paintings and I had a request for a companion piece for another koi painting I painted earlier this year...this one will go with "Southern Koi". check it out... ( there is a search box on the sidebar) and see if you agree.

Koi blue and gold

I painted a koi last year that was gold and blue and I liked the combination. Here is another one. 5.5 by 11 inches 40.00

"Koi Tag " watercolor on Ampersand 6' by 6"

I picked up larger pieces of Ampersand (6 by 6) and thought I would try some of my Koi in the larger format.
They look very bright and the ampersand gives them a bit of texture. $50.00

They are covered with Fixative to help make them a bit more durable. They can be framed with or without glass.

Gentle Koi

This watercolor piece is 5 inches by 7 inches its is on clyboard ( Ampersand) and has been sprayed with fixative.

You can choose to frame it like an oil painting or in the traditional manner of watercolor.

Another Koi? yep... ACEO

This Koi is an artist collector's card and is for sale for $8.50 and since its so small, shipping is FREE! Its a koi fish as you can see, the colors are Purple, blue orange and red.... This card is signed and dated and can be the start of your collection!

Here 's how its painted. Start wet into wet. Wet the entire background all around the fish, then drop in the lighter blue color and allow it to burst across the paper, while this is still wet, place some dark purple or ultramarine blue in areas around the edges of the paper. don't stroke the paint on but drop it in. Then using a thirsty brush, ( ie: a damp brush which has had all the water taken out of it by squeezing with a paper towel ) pull out some of the color in areas to create a little drama and to also allow some of the white of the paper to show. This will help you have three very distinct values. Light medium and dark. If you like the small amounts of white in the background this is actually painted around and just allowed to be white paper showing thru. Some artists call these "little windows" and they are always in their backgrounds. I find I like them in certain situations but don't always put them into my backgrounds.

If you would like to try watercolor a good way to start would be to paint some of these Small collectors cards. They are fast, easy and fun! They will teach you to paint with a big brush because all brushes are big when your painting on a surface that is 2.5 by 3.5!

I sell these on ebay as there are just tons of folks who collect these small cards. Originals bring the higher prices the prints are usually .99 cents. its an inexpensive way to start an art collection and they can be displayed in a number of ways. On an easel, in a frame, matted in intersted groupings, or placed in plastic baseball card sleeves and kept in an album.
ACEO stands for: Atist collector Edition or Original some folks call them ATC which stands for: Artist Trading Card then there are OSWOA Origninal Small Works of ART these are post card size paintings or silghtly larger. I noticed someone even has a book out now on how to paint these and market them. Trends seem to come and go we'll see where this one leads. I only paint a few a week and since their so small I can usually paint them pretty quick with drawing or planning. That makes them fun to paint.
email me shantmarie@aol.com

ACEO -"SPRING SURPRISE" a painting a day

This is an ACEO which measures 2.5 by 3.5 it's for sale for $10.00 + 1.50 SH.
email me if your intersted.

I didn't draw this, I basically painted it negatively then filled in the centers then put in the shadow marks. I love the loose sketch feel of the flowers.

No name yet... Still wet and no time to think of one.

This painting was finished just minutes ago and as I wanted to get it on the blog before dark, I figure, I'll post it without a name... go to dinner, come back , & maybe something will click. Or not...

Check back later for the name.

It is a 11 by 15 and is a quarter sheet. It usually sells for $300.00 but as is (no frame) you can purchase it for $250.00.

Gems of the Orient- koi -A painting a day

I worked on this painting today and found I struggled a bit. More with the composition then the application. This is a normal situation most painters find themselves in. After you’ve been painting a while you don’t worry so much about how to do something as what to do. I hope that makes sense. When you have mastered all the techniques, then you have to decide when, where and how to utilize them. The problem with really great art and creating it is the fine line each artists walks with trying to express something and not allowing it to be over done. Something a little too bright will appear schmaltzy, a little to dark it may appear flat and lifeless, too light and it will seem to lack depth, the balance one seeks is difficult to achieve but when its right, anyone can see that it is so.I am hoping you enjoy my Koi as I think I may be getting close to working thru my Koi series. This piece is for sale for $100.00 USD …size is 15 by 11(inches) on 300 lb paper. This will fit into a standard size frame of 16 by 20.It would look smashing in your home. Who knows…I may even keep it if it doesn’t sell right away.

I have so many artists that visit my blog, I decided to give out a little information about each painting.
My colors for the water are: cyan, sepia, ultramarine blue and phathalo green. most of the time mixed in various combinations.The pigments of the Koi are: orange lake, Quin gold, primary red, cad yellow, Burnt Sienna and the black is made from three colors mentioned above, the red, green and blue.