Saturday 6 February 2010

Koi on masa



I have completed a painting of a koi carp pool, thanks to a blizzard removing the distractions of tv, telephone and internet for 24 hours.  Its on a half sheet of masa which is then glued onto a half sheet of Bockingford 140lb watercolour paper.  The full painting is below, and a close up of two of the fish in the top image.
 


The process is a little time consuming in the set up but once that is complete it's fairly straightforward in watercolour painting.  However, masa paper does become quite fragile when wet, so manipulating the paint on the paper is impossible without it turning to fibres under your brush, then tearing.  So painting on this makes you think carefully before you place your brush and to let layers dry throughly before adding more.


I'm working on another fishy piece using the same technique that's coming together slowly and I will give you a sneak preview of it now.  You can visit my blog  - Illustrated Life - over the next few days to see more and to read details on how the whole thing is created using this technique.

 

11 comments:

Making A Mark said...

This is ace Jeanette - excellent work. I can't wait to see what else you produce

Jeanette Jobson said...

Thanks Katherine. I'm enjoying playing and learning

Sarah said...

wow...beautiful

Theresa Evans said...

Absolutely beautiful! I love the crackle effect of the paper too; it really adds another dimension to the painting.

vivien said...

these are beautiful and I particularly like the capelin (more finished on your website) with the subtle colours

The actute observation with the loose handling and lovely paper is a very successful mix

Minerva said...

This is so beautiful!!! The texture gives it great depth and character.

Sadia said...

Excellent work! and the effect is superb!

Jeanette Jobson said...

Thanks for the positive comments, its appreciated.

Laura Frankstone said...

These are wonderful, Jeanette! I love seeing how different your approach is from mine---should have some images to post here in a the next couple of days, too!
Koi are such a fascinating source of lines and movement!

Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen said...

Stunning work Jeanette...your kois are so "alive" - I love this!!
ronell

pinke.paints said...

This is really fascinating and wonderful - the semi-transparency of the water - the delicacy - the colors - just one of the best fish in water paintings I've seen. So glad to have stumbled on your blog!