Koil Painting

Japanese Gardens.
Chinese Dim Sum restaurants.
Some office buildings.
Maybe your house.

All places where one may find a beautiful (and endlessly hungry) koi population.

According to www.koi-pond-guide.com, koi fish symbolize good luck, abundance and perseverance. In Buddhism, they represent courage. Today, koi are considered to be symbolic of advancement materially and spiritually.

I think of koi as living art. The colors, the water movement; it all makes for a fascinating photo or artwork.

I am always on the lookout for great art for my home. Because I am also a cheapo, if I want a painting, instead of buying one, I create it on my own. There was a picture of Koi fish that I saw in a magazine prior to taking the pictures above. I loved the fish in it. Although I am no Bob Ross, I wanted koi fish to be in my home- the painted version, anyway- and I was going to figure it out.

Through this quest, I rediscovered: painting is really fun!

There are a few methods of painting out there, for example: gouache, watercolor, acrylic, oil. I love them all- but because I wanted texture, I opted for acrylic or oil. It all came down to my patience level. With oil painting- you must wait for the layers to dry before adding new paint. Oil paint is also a pain in the a$$. Acrylic was the choice.

You can see the finished outcome. It’s actually pretty fun to paint and come up with creative concepts. I kept mine pretty simple- didn’t do a lot of shading or anything, kept it two-dimensional. If you are interested in painting something yourself… here is a supply list for creating your own acrylic masterpieces:

Acrylic Paint Colors to Start
• Cadmium red, phthalo blue, cadmium yellow, burnt umber, phthalo green, titanium white, black
Paint Brushes
Palette Knife (to mix paint colors)
Moisture-Retaining Paint Palette
Paper for Practicing
Painting Canvas
Water Container
Rags or Paper Towel
An Apron
An Easel/Sturdy Spot (has to be ok to get paint on it)

I recommend putting an old sheet under your workspace. I’ve dropped paint many times.

Now let your creativity flow!!!