Red Sun Koi Painting

The sweeping rush of Koi embodies energy, vitality, and strength in numbers; tempered with a hint of mystery and darkness. In Japan, Koi fish are traditionally symbolic of prosperity and good fortune. Lily aims for her color palettes to be vibrant without being garish. 'Red Sun Koi' features strong accents of crimson, sunshine yellow and pale powder blue, on a predominantly neutral and muted backdrop. Lily has developed a unique way of working, using her own paintings as the source for collage material. The Koi fish are meticulously painted, reproduced, and cut, ready to use on a canvas. The background is painted with acrylics. The use of collage allows the freedom to play with the composition in a way which would otherwise be impossible, allowing quick changes until a design is settled upon. When the Koi collage is fixed in place, washes of ink have been applied. Finally, a glossy varnish enhances color, adds protection, and offers an opulent shine. Please be aware that this canvas has a gloss finish, and some surface texture/relief as a result of the layered collage material and varnish. Nature is common to all of Lily's work, however she would never claim to offer gritty realism. Lily describes it more like focusing on an aspect of its beauty and running with it, seeing where it can be taken. Simplicity is key, which to Lily means creating something which people can hopefully take some pleasure and enjoyment from. The canvas is stretched on a deep edge wooden frame with painted sides. This is set into a made to measure floating/tray frame. The frame is finished with Littlefair's water based non-toxic water stain in 'Dark Red Mahogany'. Ready to hang. The dimensions listed are the canvas only. Framed measurements: 50" x 32" x 2" Unframed measurements: 48" x 30" x 1.5"