Spent another day painting koi. One of the challenges of these paintings is what to do with largish areas of canvas that are just blue — as in the detail above of the painting-of-the-moment.. I have been thinking with the brush in hand, but I also make drawings in which I experiment with different shades of blue set side by side. Or I try to figure out how to create some facsimile of the dimension of the water itself.
It’s more “thinking about” than achieving “success” at this point, but it goes to show how any motif can take you deeper and deeper into the question of how we perceive our perceptions.
After painting, I stopped by the koi pond to see the guys. They all say “hi.” They’ll be very happy if I can make them famous. They think they’re worth it.
It was quite hot and muggy in Washington DC today (our typical mid-summer weather), but I had a quiet pool of blue water to stare at so I was vicariously cool as can be. Still have a long ways to go with this painting, propped outside the studio door at my secret, fortified bunker studio in the heart of the Nation’s capital, many days to go during which I will sit beside my koi pond in thought.
Aletha Kuschan's Weblog 
You know Aletha – a great big Orca would fill up that blue space no problems – hahahaha!!! Your top secret bunker sounds very mysterious and fascinating – one day I will extract the truth from you. You koi are definitely worth it – fame will come.