Butterflies, Birds & Wildlife · horizontal

Ember Beneath the Ripples, Orange Koi in Blue Water

A bright orange koi swims just under the surface of a pond. The water is full of rippling reflections in blue, red, green and cream, and small bubbles sit on the dark upper part of the surface. The texture looks painterly, like thick brushstrokes in the blue areas.

A glowing orange koi is the single clear subject, but the water around it is treated almost like brushwork, so the piece reads as both a fish and a field of colour. Many koi images are flat, bright and decorative. This one has a dark, bubble-dotted upper pond and a thick, painterly blue foreground, which gives it depth and mood. Someone with a blank horizontal wall and a taste for blue and orange would want it for the colour contrast alone.

Artwork by Omaste Witkowski