4 Koi, 30×40 inches, oil on canvas
I had such a good time painting this image. Can you tell?
Someone once told me that my work was all about the diagonals. Bright color too. But that’s a more obvious quality. The diagonals are instinctive. I never even thought about them until my friend Jim Mingo pointed them out. Sadly, he died. He last name wasn’t really Mingo. That was the name of his gallery. But I often used it to hear his thunderous laugh. It never failed.
On occasion, now, I do think about those diagonals … along with all the other compositional elements : active versus passive passages, my strokes, and more. I’m really not conscious of the dance my diagonal placement of the koi often creates as I paint these japanese carp. This 4 Koi painting reminds me of Matisse’s dance figures above. Dance away.
The play of golds and yellows in this painting makes me smile. The movement and use of reflection and light are just simply beautiful!
thank you Pauline for your lovely and thoughtful observations!