Sunday, July 22, 2012

The Joy of Koi



    I recently took a 5-day workshop with watercolorist, Cheng-Khee Chee at Cheap Joe's in Boone N.C. What a treat! I've always been fairly traditional in my approach to watercolor, so this was a great way to expand my horizons.
    In the class we painted on different types of paper (including rice papers) and at times, incorporated inks and gels. My favorite was the saturated wet-into-wet technique. We covered both sides of the paper with soaking amounts of water and then painted the entire front with deep, rich non-staining colors. Yikes - no drawing to go by! The amazing part of the process was in "lifting" the pigment with a thirsty brush to form the outlines of koi fish. Gradually my fish began to appear, and once I had their silhouetted shapes, I went back in with the shading and detail. It's a fascinating process and my "new favorite way to paint."
    Here's an example of a koi painting that I've created since returning home. 2 more are in the works!

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