Sunday, August 25, 2013

Concerning the Koi

6" x 6" acrylic on board "The Koi" Click HERE to purchase $100.00

Sitting at the edge
of the pond and
contemplating

the koi,

I am captured by
their color,
ensnarled in their
swirling.

I am calmed.

As I sit
in the massive
shopping mall
on the concrete
edge of the koi pond,

I feel frenetic
bodies
all about me:

sallying,
bullying and
stirring the air

Sometimes for gain,
they perform
the unthinkable.


7" x 7" watercolor on 140 lb. NOT paper. Click HERE to purchase $100.00

When koi are released
into the wild,
they lose their
spectacular color within

a few generations

and don the dull cloak
of the carp.

They stir the soil,
making their watery home
muddy and
unattractive
to everyone else.

Undrinkable.

Sometimes for gain,
they perform
the unthinkable.

Captivity
becomes
the koi.

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Here's a photo for Shadow Shot Sunday:




30 comments:

  1. excellent acrylic painting!!
    the watercolor is also a very promising portrait, but can you tell me why you decide not to "finish" it?

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    1. Thanks Azzizz! I painted this at a gathering of artists at the local museum. At one point another artist came by and said that he liked the white space at the right of the face and that I should consider leaving it. I have had this history of over-completing pictures, I think, so I decided to follow his advice. Another reason is that I had some sketches in my sketchbook that were quite interesting to me in which portions of the face were set into simple shapes. I was thinking of that when I was painting this one. I never intended to paint a complete head and shoulders portrait anyway.

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  2. Great stuff, Dan, These are terrific! (that's like awesome x 3)

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  3. Hey Dan, I love your mix of painting and words. I didn't get my shadow shot up this week. I'll happily add you to my blog list.

    Bill McKibben came to Floyd (small town, rural county in VA). Here is the story I wrote for the local paper about it: http://www.looseleafnotes.com/2009/06/small-towns-hold-most-promise-author-says/ He's a really great guy.

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    1. Thank you Colleen. I love your words and am happy to follow your blog! I love the quote you gave of Bill McGibben in your article. It is so true.

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  4. PS the shadow shot is cool. Makes me want to throw a basketball in it!

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  5. I love the Koi, I think it's my favourite so far. Great work Dan!

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  6. Gadzooks...that is a great painting!! whoa!!
    love the poem too. Bravo!

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    1. I love it when I inspire comic book exclamations! Thanks Celeste!

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  7. While I appreciate your shadowy glass, I'm arrested by the koi, which look so much like the ones I saw in the little Panamanian mountain town of El Valle several years ago. Thanks for taking me back in time with your artistry!

    Shadowy Ruins

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    1. Thank you, my haiku guru. I am so glad that my painting brought you memories. That is such a nice thought.

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  8. Great paintings: both of them I love the colours you used on the koi and the subtle expression in your portrait !

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  9. Low the koi painting and the portrait.

    Feel bad for the captive koi but do enjoy seeing them in otherwise frenetic public places.

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  10. Replies
    1. At first I thought this was a comment in itself. And I like it. But I understood what you meant. :)

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  11. Such similarity between the koi in captivity and the artist in his studio! Beautiful paintings.

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    1. Hallie - you are brilliant! Absolutely true. Thank you.

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  12. Such a soothing watching them, didn't know all that about them and sure gives one a different perspective of the koi life style. Really beautiful painting!!!

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    1. We always try to pin our ideas on other creatures and things and people. I was surprised (and pleased) to find out the facts as well, as I wrote the poem. Thank you, Mari.

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  13. Hi, Dan, beautiful works! Thank u for sharing the deep thoughts -- I did know know Koi would lose colours in wild (knew so many expensive koi in Japan though). Your drawings make viewers think lots. Keep up wonderful work and try writing, too!
    Best wishes, Sadami

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    1. I was surprised too. Actually, I don't believe the colors of the existing koi if put in the wild go away. I believe that after a few generations of breeding in the wild, they go away.

      Thank you Sadami. I do try writing every time I do a post!

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  14. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. While the thought was appreciated, I believe you are spam so away you go.

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