I really had to laugh!

This month, I’ve been preparing to submit two artworks into the Alfred Cove Arts Society’s 2024 Awards of Excellence. For this I decided to focus on Koi. I have always been fascinated with the confidence and daring of this fish, the way they are so interactive and will practically climb out of the water if they want something, not to mention the infinite colour variations and patterns. Koi are also symbols of luck, prosperity, and perseverance! What’s not to love?

So, I’m busily painting watercolour koi, with a focus on showing movement, and I was really proud of the two I created. The first, you can see in my previous video (click here to watch: https://https://youtu.be/--sOPHMPsZw), is a landscape, and the second in this video, is a portrait style plunge. I took them proudly to my dad, my framer, and he said, “What if you want to hang them side by side? Shouldn’t they both be landscape?”….

So you can see I had to laugh, because of course, he was right! Turns out I needed the perseverance symbolized by the koi! So, even though I’m now painting a new watercolour for the Awards, I’m posting my video of The Plunge, because after all, I’m still really proud of it.

So, watch this space for video number 3 and I hope you’ll enjoy watching my second koi watercolour painting coming to life.

Monique x

P.S If you like this watercolour and would like a print of it, click here: https://https://www.chasingthejoyartwork.com/shop/p/watercolourkoitheplunge

Colours by Daniel Smith and Jane Davenport

250gsm Watercolour Canvas

3/4" Oval Wash Princeton Neptune

No 8 medium liner brush

Music – On The Double by Rob Barbato

Awards of Excellence 3rd-12th of May, 2024 at Atwell House https://acas.wildapricot.org/Events

https://chasingthejoyartwork.com