Koi: Process Pics
This was the first piece I ever painted using Kool-Aid. I started by mixing the contents of a Cherry Kool-Aid packet with a couple ounces of water (no sugar) and spilling it out on a 12-foot long sheet of water color paper.*
* Careful observers will note that actually, I'd previously spilled out some black tea (no sugar) to create an ambiguous background.
Viewing it horizontally, I discoered that it had a faintly fish-like form. The tea streaks in the background added a seaweedy underwater motif. I left the puddling Kool-Aid to dry naturally. I hadn't yet developed my paper-towel-blotting method.
While I waited, I found a drawing of a catfish online and overlaid the image using the powerful Procreate software on my iPad to see how it might look.
I used a pencil to sketch out a fish body and some Orange Kool-Aid for the fins and tail.
The last step was removing the frisket I'd painted on to enable crisp lines and define the fins. Peeling it up brings the same satisfaction you might remember from peeling rubber cement from your hand in middle school. I'm pretty sure it's the same stuff.
Voilà: the completed piece, framed and hung on the wall. Contact me to view it in person at Launch Workplaces, Glover Park, in Washington, D.C. (you're not standing in front of it already).