How Koi Gardens inspire me as a Composer
There are in most people, I think, many sides to their passions. I have always been a hands on person, for example, being a chef. I need that physical tactile element to all the things that I do. I was drawn to landscape garden design for the same reason. In particular Koi gardens, fish ponds and Japanese Gardens.
This passion for Koi gardens inspires me as a composer of easy listening piano music. I seriously considered installing Koi Gardens professionally after I retired as a chef. However to make a reasonable living out of it I would have had to do all the hard physical work myself. At 50 years old – I don’t think so! So I satiated this passion by concentrating on my own Bonsai collection, Koi pond & Japanese Garden.
In the past I was also a serious tropical fish aquarium hobbyist. As more time was taken up by my music, the fish tanks had to go.
As a kid I did a lot of sketching & oil painting, something that has regrettably gone by the wayside as life has gone on. You just can’t do everything, unless of course you are Leonardo Da Vinci. He could do anything, but he was a genius, I’m not.
As one that was drawn to art, I found the French impressionists particularly appealing. I loved the way Claude Monet included his passion for his great & famous garden as subject material, & inspiration in general. I too in a more humble way use Japanese garden themes as a setting and inspiration for my compositions, inspired by my more modest rooftop Japanese style garden.
- Mark John McEncroe
