Animarii No.6: Koi — The One Who Becomes the Dragon · Original Oil Painting

Original oil painting on professional watercolor sheet. 9x12 inches. Painted with oils and accented with hand-applied foil in the eye and within the body — a shimmer beneath the surface that reveals itself differently depending on how you look and from where. Varnished and ready to ship flat in a rigid protective mailer.

Called Nishikigoi — brocaded carp — the koi has been a living symbol of perseverance, transformation, and spiritual purpose for thousands of years across Chinese and Japanese tradition. At the heart of her mythology is one of the most potent transformation stories ever told: a koi that swims the full length of the Yellow River against the current and leaps the waterfall at Dragon Gate is rewarded by the gods and transformed into a dragon. She does not become the dragon by being exceptional. She becomes it by continuing. The foil beneath her surface has been there the whole time. She simply hasn’t arrived yet.

This painting is part of Animarii, a 12-piece series of original oil paintings on professional watercolor sheet by British-Californian artist Rebecca Papillon.

Medium: Oil on professional watercolor sheet. The paper is sealed before painting and worked in highly lightfast pigment oils. 9x12 inches. All original paintings are signed by the artist.

The painted image area is 9x12 inches. The sheet is trimmed to 10x13 inches, leaving a white border for ease of handling and mounting.

Sold unframed. The framed mock-up shown is for scale and framing inspiration only.

Framing guidance

This piece frames beautifully in any standard frame with a 9x12 inch mat aperture. We recommend a 16x20 inch frame as the primary option — this gives a generous, gallery-standard mat with weighted spacing (slightly more border at the bottom than the top and sides, which is correct fine art framing convention). A 14x18 inch frame with the same 9x12 inch aperture works well for a closer, more intimate presentation. Both options are widely available. The 10x13 inch sheet fits comfortably within either frame with room for mounting. As a varnished oil painting on paper, this work is displayed without glass — this is standard practice for oil paintings. Varnish protects the surface, and glass would trap moisture and alter how the colors read. Simply frame with the mat only, no glazing required. Do not hang in direct sunlight — avoid placement opposite south- or west-facing windows and skylights.
View up close on YouTube