On my recent visit to Washington DC, we had a family outing to the National Arboretum, one of our favorite spots. The highlight is always the Koi pond where these glorious fish are beautiful and huge. Usually, we feed them food that is bought from a dispenser. The view is gaping mouths, as they have big appetites. It's amusing, but not as pretty as just seeing them swim around. This time, we couldn't feed them. Evidently there has been some over-feeding, and so the feeding isn't every day now. The fish are smart, and knew that there was no food, but still came close to the edge. I painted this from a photo, though I have painted the pond and the building behind and over it "en plein air" many times. It was quite a challenge to work to get the fish, the reflections and the shadows from a tree.
This painting is 22" x 28" and is framed with no mat...using "ArtSpacers" to separate it from the glass. It probably will be my choice for the new show "The Eight" will be putting up at O'Connor's restaurant on Tuesday.
posted by Carolyn Rondthaler, owner, Plum Gallery
