• Coy Koi original watercolor painting by Christie Marie Elder, featuring vibrant koi, dark blue pond water, and luminous lily pads with gemstone pigments.
  • framed Coy Koi original watercolor by Christie Marie Elder in a charcoal-tone frame with deep matting and fine line accents.
  • Coy Koi original watercolor shown framed in a modern interior above a wood cabinet with books and natural light.
  • Close-up of Coy Koi showing blue gemstone pigment layered over warm orange koi, creating depth and shimmer.
  • Detail of Coy Koi original watercolor art showing a luminous koi tail moving through dark blue pond water.
  • Close-up of Coy Koi’s professional framing, showing charcoal tones and metallic detailing.
  • A staged shot of the watercolor artwork by Christie Marie Elder of Koi fish in a dark blue pond professionally framed.
  • Coy Koi watercolor in progress showing warm orange koi and lily pads before the deep blue water and gemstone glazing were added.
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Kauai Christie's Art

Coy Koi — Original Watercolor

Coy Koi — Original Watercolor

$17,000.00 USD
$17,000.00 USD
Sale Sold out

Coy Koi

Bright koi move through unusually dark water, weaving between luminous lily pads, ripples, and shifting flashes of blue.

I painted Coy Koi in 2015 as an exploration of depth, color, and how far I could push transparent watercolor without losing the clarity that makes the medium so beautiful.

Water is often depicted as light, reflective, and open. In this painting, I wanted the opposite challenge: a pond built from deep, saturated blues and near-black passages, with the koi appearing to move at different depths beneath the surface.

The darkness allowed the fish and lily pads to emerge almost like jewels.

Some of the koi seem content to drift quietly beneath the surface; others make themselves a little harder to ignore.

Pushing the Limits of Watercolor

One of the experiments in Coy Koi involved layering complementary colors in a way watercolor painters are usually taught to approach very cautiously.

A deeply staining pyrrol orange was established first in portions of the koi. Once completely dry, selected areas were glazed with a granular gemstone blue.

Because orange and blue sit opposite each other on the color wheel, layering them can easily collapse into muddy neutrals. But in this piece, the very different characteristics of the pigments allowed both colors to remain visually present.

The effect is especially visible in the koi moving through the darker water, where the blue appears to pass over the warm orange beneath it, creating a convincing sense of submersion, depth, and movement.

Up close, the mineral and gemstone pigments catch changing light with subtle flashes of shimmer. The granular blue remains visible over the warmer staining layers beneath it, allowing the surface to shift as the viewer moves.

That physical interaction between pigment, paper, and light is one of the qualities that makes the original difficult to fully reproduce in a photograph or print.

The image can be reproduced.

The changing surface belongs to the original.

Artwork Details

Original Watercolor · One of One

Title: Coy Koi
Artist: Christie Marie Elder
Created: 2015
Medium: Watercolor with mineral and semi-precious gemstone pigments
Artwork Dimensions: 16" H × 20" W
Framed Dimensions: 25¼" H × 29" W × 1¼" D
Price: $17,000

Framing

Professionally presented in a layered charcoal-toned frame with subtle metallic detailing, a deep charcoal mat, and fine light line accents surrounding the artwork.

The dark presentation echoes the depth of the pond while allowing the vivid koi, lily pads, and gemstone pigments to remain the focus.

Glazed and ready to hang.

Artist Signature & Documentation

Signature: Signed by Christie Marie Elder on the front.

Each original artwork includes a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) along with an artist biography for provenance and collector records.

Copyright

© Christie Marie Elder. All rights reserved.

Purchase of the original artwork transfers ownership of the physical artwork only. Copyright and reproduction rights remain with the artist and do not transfer with the sale.

Shipping & Delivery

Kauaʻi: Complimentary gallery pickup or local delivery is available for original artwork purchases.

Off-Island & International Collectors: Because each original artwork requires specialized packing and fully insured transport, shipping is quoted individually based on the artwork and destination.

Before purchasing, please click the “Request a Shipping Quote” button on this page and complete the short form with your delivery address. We’ll arrange the appropriate professional packing and insured transport, then contact you with the complete shipping quote.

Once you approve the quote, we’ll send you a secure invoice through our online gallery for the artwork and shipping.

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