"My friends say I'm very koi"

I've had a couple of emails from friends who are all curious to see what exactly these new paintings are which I keep talking about.  And which have caused me to disappear into my studio instead of doing things like answering my phone and eating balanced meals.  So ta-DAAA!  Kind of a weird photo, the flash reflected off the gel stuff and made the bones stand out more than they do in real life, but you'll get the idea.  1 x 3 feet, on wood, in acrylic.

So far I have three paintings done, two in good progress, and one which is not working yet.  I pick up wood panels for 3 more tomorrow.  I'd like to have them done before I fly to Oregon next Monday.  Think I'll make it?

Any ideas about fishbone symbolism out there?  It seems to be part of my personal iconography.  The first time I saw a fish skeleton graphic was on a patch which was safety-pinned to an uber-cool punk girl's jacket back in the 80's when I was pretty much the opposite everything she stood for.

Thanks (and possibly apologies) to my fantastically arty friend Scott whose tattoo ideas inspired the cherry blossoms.  Hope you don't mind...