(5x7)Now that I've broken the ice, I think I'll do a few more little koi paintings. I began this last night--the picture below shows where I stopped last night; I should have perhaps left it there, but, for some reason I didn't like that two corners were light: it doesn't bother me now (that it's too late)!
I was looking down on the pond so the ripple was round, but that's no excuse (I can almost hear one of teachers' exasperation with students who would defend bad decisions in their paintings by saying, But that's how it was!)--it doesn't look right: I should have made it more elliptical.
I happened to glance over at my collection of Buddhas, Hotei, the Happy Buddha, last night; all the small Buddhas are temporarily gathered on a shelf there (I have larger ones around the house and yard). There's something perverse about collecting Buddhas, but, in my defense, I don't do actively--though I do buy them as souvenirs and have ones from LA, Chicago, Boston, and Santa Fe (the Santa Fe one is the tiniest, 3/4")--they just come to me; even the souvenirs--I don't seek them but see them.
Anyway, they're wonderful and make me happy ... and made me wonder last night why I don't paint them!?
5 comments:
I love both stages of the koi painting, and continue to be delighted with the effects you achieve so quickly. The one feature that last night's start has over the finished product (which I only noticed when you drew attention to it) is that the ripples seemed to be ever-so-slightly eliptical!
I think the painting is beautiful, Laura. I think it is just fine and dandy and I think your ripples are exactly as they should be. At least to my eyes. I have to say that the gold Buddha with the look of joy on his face and his thrown up to embrace life and happiness makes me smile!
I vote for last night's version, though they are both wonderful. If you hadn't said anything about ellipses, it would not have crossed my mind that ripples should be this way or that, but now that you've drawn my attention to it, I have to say that the circular ripples in the square format of the earlier version, in combination with the irregular, organic shapes of the koi and leaves, is brilliant.
Hello Laura,
thank you for visiting my blog and leaving your comments!- I like your blog very much; your watercolour paintimgs are great!
I like both of these, too--I didn't see this one--I must have thought I'd already seen your kois--so I missed this installment! They are really wonderful--each a bit different, but lovely spots in each one. I don't think the top one is overdone--I think they're both lovely. Sort of like Monet's haystacks at different times with different lights on the subject, eh?
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