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will be open and selling Decorative, Select and Premium grades of koi art in the mid-spring. You may find her doing Koi Art Lessons and Gatherings here at the Koi Krazy Art Network. You may also browse the Koi Krazy Farm website for info about pond designs, pond tours, koi keeping, koi diseases, green water, pump reviews, koi farm locations and much more. |
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Expressing my love for nature and life on this planet can travel through my art when I create spontaneously. Pastel is the art medium that allows this freedom of expression. As a woman pastel artist my art tends toward the spirit that infuses life on every level. Beginning as a biomedical illustrator , my exploration of every cell in a leaf and human body has lead me to a celebrative style of art. Looking at the whole picture, the balance of cool and warm colors, the play of shapes with one another and the energy flowing through my art brings me great joy. Growing up in the Appalachian Mountains gifted me with a deep connection to nature; it’s amazing power and abundant variety. Creativity abounds here. Painting pastel images of the native animals, plants and people captures it’s heritage in a new, spontaneous way. I work with a storyteller, Amy Ammons Garza, and paint large pastel murals behind her, spontaneously bringing to life the spoken word. Continuing with this way of painting, book illustration , magazine & book covers , and posters are other uses of my art. My original pastel art is sold sometimes even before it’s finished, so now my art is available in museum quality Giclee limited edition pastel prints, art cards and tasseled bookmarks. As an American pastel artist my art reflects the beauty of it’s landscape, decorative life-style, pirit driven endeavors, and striking people. Historically pastel has taken second place to the oil and water mediums in American art, yet pastel’s pure pigment lasts longer, has vibrant, clear colors and is suited to drawing and painting. Today pastel painting is becoming much sought after and collectors are purchasing pastel art for investment. One of my new endeavors is painting pastel renditions of Koi Art. My husband, Jerry Cain and I are growing Koi fish and are developing a Koi farm on our Nature Preserve in the southern Appalachian Mountains: www.koi-krazy.net/. I hope you enjoy these pages of Appalachian Mountain pastel art, museum quality Giclee pastel prints, art cards & bookmarks and make a piece of art your own. Do take a peek at our art news resource site. *** Little Bit of Koi History *** Rice farmers of Yamakoshigo, a village in the Niigata prefecture on the northwestern coast of mainland Japan, started farming carp in the ponds used to irrigate their rice paddies to use as a protein supplement to their rice diet. Even though there are some very old paintings showing carp with color mutations such as red fins it wasn’t until the beginning of the 19th century that rice farmers in the Niigata prefecture began to collect and farm carp with color mutations of red, white and yellow. The Japanese use the reign of their emperors when referring to historical events. This is also true of the development of Nishikigoi. Bunka and Bunsei Era (1804-1829): During this era the first koi with red were farmed in Japan. At first, their red markings appeared on their cheeks. White koi were also farmed and crossed with the koi that had red cheeks. The end result was white koi with red abdomens. Tenpo Era (1830-1843): Farming efforts continued to strive for change that would make the koi more appealing to the eye. White Koi with red located on the forehead was referred to as Zukinkaburi. Red covering the entire head was called Menkaburi, red on the lips only was Kuchibeni (lipstick). Meija Era (1868-1912): This is the era when the Kohaku were developed thru extensive farming. This is also the era when carp from Germany were first introduced to Japan and bred with the Nishikigoi. This is where the Doitsu (German) varieties come from. There are two types of German carp. One type has no scales and is called the leather carp and the other has large scales along each side of the dorsal fin and along the lateral line only (mirror carp). Taisho Era (1912-1926): This is when the Taisho Sanke was perfected. It is a white koi with a red and black pattern. Sanke means tri-colored. Sanke may have appeared at the end of the Meija Era. Shiro Utsuri (black with white markings) was introduced at the end of this era. In 1914 some of the most beautiful varieties were shown at an exposition in Tokyo where some of these colored carp were presented to Crown Prince Hirohito. This is where it really got started. Showa Era (1927-1989): Showa Sanshoku (sanshoku also means tri-colored). This is the last of the varieties referred to as Gosanke (the big three) which includes the Kohaku, Sanke, and Showa. These are the three varieties of koi most prized by the Japanese and advanced koi hobbyist all over the world with the Kohaku being #1. These varieties are the ones that win most of the top prizes in koi shows. This period has seen the most advancements in the koi hobby with many new varieties being introduced and improvements in the first varieties. This is also the era when koi were first introduced to the United States and Europe. As with anything else koi related you can find information stating different dates when koi farming first arrived in the US. During my extensive research of koi, I've read that Nishikigoi first became popular in the United States when introduced to California during the mid 1960s.
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