"Grandma's Sugar Bowl" --- Sold

Upon workshop artists’ request, I did the third demo. The main object of this demo was a white sugar bowl with gilded gold lines. It was so fun painting it. I felt more at ease dealing with white objects now. I painted the light area of the sugar bowl quite gray, so I have enough value range for high lights. I think I can push the value down even more and still  make the sugar bowl look white. It is amazing how much potentials we have in our painting practices. That is the way we grow.

"Flower of Sacramento" --- Sold

This is my second demo at my Sacramento workshop. I usually be conservative when I do demos. I don't want paint something I have not painted before. But this time is exceptional. I got several branches of camellia outside the art center. I have not painted camellia before, but they are so beautiful and I could not resist the temptation to paint them, even doing this in front of many artists. The result turned to be much better than I thought. I enjoyed it very much. After this demo I have learned that camellia is the city flower of Sacramento.

"Demo at Sacramento 2012_1"

Continuing my travel to the next station, I have arrived at Sacramento and started my workshop teaching at the Capital Art Center at S12. I want to thank Patris Miller for organizing my workshop again. I have met many new friends and feels so good to see many old friends. Thank you all for coming. This is my first demo. I put a lot of gray colors on this one. It was a lot of fun.

"Fruit Conversation"

This is the second 16" x 20" I did in Northern California. My friend Fongwei has many beautiful bronze props.  I enjoyed so much painting them. The subtle greenish color really enhances the dark purple of grapes. Plus the warm orange color of the tangerines, I feel I have heard the chatting among those fruit friends. Similarly I enjoy chatting with you all on the Internet. I am the small grape on the table top.

FYI: Max Ginsburg Workshop in Austin

Master painter and illustrator Max Ginsburg will teach a workshop in Austin, TX on April 2 - 6.  My friend Danny Grant will be the organizer for this workshop. Following is a brief information for this workshop:

Max Ginsburg will teach and demonstrate his unique approach to portrait and figure painting in an intensive 5 day workshop at the Gemini School of Visual Arts just north of Austin, TX. 

Max has had a long career as a commercial illustrator with over 200 book covers under his belt. He has also won many awards for his fine art paintings including Best of Show in this year's Art Renewal Center Salon. In 2011 Max released a retrospective book spanning 50 years of his work coinciding with retrospective shows opening in New York City and Indiana. Max taught for many years at the School for Visual Arts in New York City and continues to give workshops at the Art Students League.

This is an opportunity not to be missed for artists in the Southwest as Max rarely teaches outside of New York City!

Max Ginsburg: Painting From Life in Oil

April 2- 6, 2012

Venue: Gemini School of Visual Art

Contact: Danny Grant

              dannygrant79@yahoo.com

              214-454-2172

Workshop Website: www.maxginsburginaustin.blogspot.com

"The Song of Silence"

Painting still life when moving constantly. It sounds really oxymoron. Well that is my life now, and it will be like this for a while probably. I am learning to adapt this new life. Currently, I am staying with my friend Fongwei Liu in northern California. This is a painting I did in Liu’s studio. I spent two days on this 16” x 20” and plan to send this painting to a gallery.  It feels so good painting together with a good artist. Painting large is very different from painting small paintings. I feel happy I am able to do some gallery level paintings when I am traveling. So I gave a oxymoron title for my today’s painting as well.

"Young Blood"

I was so happy meeting so many young artists at the Putney Painters Show. The artists in this photo are all in their 20th, well except one. From left to right are Tyler Murphy, Daniel Keys, Anna Rose Bain, Ryan Mellody, Michelle Dunaway, me, and Taaron Parsons. It is a great sign for representational art. Thank you Anna for the photo.

With Nancy Guzik

I am sitting at Phoenix airport waiting for my flight to San Francisco. The three day excitement at Scottsdale has not subsided yet. I had an extremely informative several days with this incredible group of artists called the Putney painters, especially Nancy Guzik. I am humbled in front of their remarkable paintings, and learning like sponge. They are wonderful teachers. I watch a few wonderful demos. they are very helpful for the improvement of my art. Besides this marvelous show. I really enjoyed spending some wonderful moments with a few local artist friends. Specially I want thank Li Hua and Mark Mahalik for their hospitality. Li Hua is a fantastic contemporary artist, Please check her website to see her great work. Scottsdale is such a wonderful art center. I will come back in the near future.

"On a Cruise"

Click Here to Bid

This is a very quick plain air sketch I did when I was on the cruise ship to the Caribbean Sea. I have been watching the recent Italian cruise ship sinking. It is shocking to see the a luxurious vocation turned into a nightmare just like that. So value the time you have. Live well and be careful.

I am on the road again. I will be in Scottsdale attending the Putney painters show at the Legacy Gallery. I am so honored to be part of this wonderful group of painters learning art from Richard Schmid.

"Delicate Grays"

Click Here to Bid

I use this painting to practice the variation of subtle gray colors. The vase and the mug are slightly different in color. I used ultramarine blue, cad orange and white as my core gray and shifted that gray into yellow, blue, and purple by mixing with corresponding colors. I feel satisfied with this one. The value maybe a little dark, but in general I see progress.

In my yesterday's post I mentioned the failure I had. I didn't mean the painting wasn't working, but it was my theory. I thought I could use terre verte and ultramarine violet to mix a purplish gray, but it was not a good choice. The color could not get dark value. Having wrong theories is very common in research. That is why experiments are so important.

“Out of the Shadow"

Click Here to Bid

After several value study exercises, I carefully moving into the domain of color. My main goal is to understand gray. I opened my palette widely and involved quite a few colors I didn't use very often: Transparent Oxide Yellow, Transparent Orange, Terre Verte, Phthalo Turquoise, Raw Umber, and Ultramarine Violet to name some. I theorized models for the color gray, and I used this small painting to test my theory. But I have failed. I need to modify my theory and try again. Now my art has turned into a full blown scientific research. Do I need to write a thesis? Maybe I will.

“Head Study 122611"

This week I didn't paint much, but I did some research on my art. There is so much I don't know in painting, Instead of simply just paint constantly, I need to examine my process to figure out the missing parts. I spent these several days researching on grays. Previously, I figure out several pair of colors I can make grays. This time I made some color charts by tinting different mixtures so I would know their individual characteristics. Next step, I will put those gray charts side by side so I will know their relationships. I feel this rigorous approach is necessary to achieve a true understanding. It will take me some time to finish this research and I will share with you what I have learned.

Since I don't have a recent painting to show, I want to show this head study. I did this one on the cruise ship a half month ago. My portrait painting needs a lot of work too, but let me take care of value and color research first. We must set priorities.

"Get Closer"

Click Here to Bid

Coming back from Houston, I resume my small painting immediately. I know that is the only way I can improve myself in painting. Time will slip out so quick and you MUST grab it with a significant effort. With this painting, I continued on value study. I want make sure I can put high lights on the white vase, and use low values dominantly to paint the white cloth. I think it worked.

Recently, I have noticed some major glitch on my website. My website hosting company said I owe them several hundreds dollars, which I don't think it is right. The Internet is very tricky world. There are wonderful tools, but they are not dependable. So if you see any problems related with my website, please don't be surprised. I am dealing with it now, and I apologize in advance if it causes you any  inconvenience.

"Demo at Houston 2" --- Sold

I came back from Houston last night. This is my second demo at the workshop. This year, I have scheduled far more workshops than I did last year (for a very obvious reason). I need to adapt this new dynamically "nomadic" life style. I don't think I have the luxury of staying in my studio and working on my paintings systematically any more. I have to learn how to regulate a very irregular life and still progress. I wish I could slow down and live a life like the good old days, but I don't see that is possible. I will learn how to stitch all my fragmented time together to make it mean something. It is so ironic that a still life painter is having a very un-stilled life. Hee-Haw!!!

"Demo at Houston 1" --- Sold

After three days of rest, I am traveling again. I am at Houston now teaching a workshop at Houston Civic Art Association. I want to thank Jerrie Powell and HCAA for organizing this workshop together, and thank all the artist friends for attending. This is the demo I did today. I hope you like it.

"Red Balance" --- Sold

Click Here to Bid

Continuing on value design and fold study. I hardly use any white for painting the table cloth. The illumination of the setup was very warm, so the brightest area on the cloth was pure "naples yellow light" (Winsor & Newton). My goal of this study is to see how dark I can go but still keeping the cloth appearing "white"looking.

"Lonely on the Boat" --- Sold

Click Here to Bid

For these a couple of months, life to me likes a bowl of Gumbo. There are too many flavors combined. Good and bad things hodgepodged together like mixing too many colors on the palette. You know what it will turn into. I need a break from breaks and be still for a while to let my mind clearing up. I have detoured from my regular painting practice too long. I saw the quality of my art is going down, and it pushes me back almost to the drawing board, literally. Can't wait to be back to my studio.

I did this painting last night. Down to the basics, the value design was my main focus. Improving on painting fabric folds is my second purpose. I feel pretty rusted now, but I will be better after some warming up.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! We just arrived back to Austin. It feels so good to be home. I considered to post some photos on the cruise ship, but the cost was too much so I gave it up. 

This photo was shot at Costa Maya, Mexico. It was our first stop after two days voyage. Costa Maya is very small costal town. Because tourists come here by cruise ships only, it is rather quiet and not very commercially hit. The local people are very friendly, the beach is very clean. I have chances talking with the local people. There was not much traffic. Sitting on the beach with a coconut in hand, I think I am very lucky to see this virgin beauty of this planet. I hope this beauty remains for a long long time. I wish my visit would have not added stains on this pure land and water.

I have done three paintings on the ship and I will share them with you later. We had several bad days on the cruise too. All three of us got sick. Some sort of stomach flue. I was so sick yesterday even I doubt I could drive back from New Orleans back to Austin. Well, I made it. 

Way to the Sea

We are in New Orleans right now. We will be on a cruise to Honduras I guess. I am not sure if I can access the Internet on the boat. If I am not able to communicate with you, I will be back on the New Year's day. I apologize in advance for the delay for shipping my sold paintings. I will do that right away when I get home. I have my painting gears with me, and will have a great time. At this holiday season, I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

"Head Study 122111"

These several days I felt my brain has been short of lubricants. It didn't run fast enough to catch up what I need to do and think about. I let my intuition take over, moving here and there like a robot. I went to our local portrait painting on Wednesday night and did this head study. In a couple of days, I am traveling again. Where I am going? I will let you know soon with my postcards.

"Tangerine with Leaves" --- Sold

Click Here to Bid

This is another small painting I did in Beijing. I haven't resume painting in my studio yet. It is my technical working week for my ex-comany. Life is full of contrast.

"Chinese Tea" --- Sold

Click Here to Bid

I am so happy coming back. Now I am able to post on my blog myself. Thank you Eric (my brother in Canada) for helping me posting all my Beijing photos. When I was in Beijing I did several small paintings. I didn't post them because I didn't want to overburden Eric in spending too much time dealing with creating auction pages. To facilitate my daily painting in my parents' place was a big challenge. It took me several days to setup. I got only under a half of a desk area for all my painting activities. Two shoe boxes were used as the base for my setups. I used toilet paper to wipe my brushes since I simply didn't know where to buy paper towels. Lighting was a big issue. I wasn't able to find simple incandescent light bulbs more than 40W. Painting under this condition made my really appreciate the luxury I have in America, and I was so proud of myself being able to hack a quick-n-dirty way to keep my art going.

"LAX Snafu"

I am in the US now, but LAX didn’t say “welcome back home” nicely to me. Even I had close to two hours transfer time between flights but I still missed my flight back to Austin.  I have to wait here for another 8 hours for the next one.  I want share my bad experience with you and hope to help some of you who travel international to prepare better in the future: If you transfer from an international flight to domestic at LAX, you must give at least two and half or three hours in between. I arrived at LAX via Air China, went through border checking, got my bags, and went through the customs. All of those activities took me about a hour. That was quite normal. Then I walked out of the International terminal. I couldn’t find any sign of guidance or TV monitors showing how to connect to my domestic flight. I needed to go to United Airline, but I even don’t know which terminal I should go to. There are 8 terminals at LAX. I spent quick an effort and found an information counter but nobody was there. I feel a little rushed and grabbed anybody I could asking information: workers move baggages, security guys, .. you name it. I got all kinds of answers. I went upstairs and came down. finally I found an information has a person working. I was told to go to Terminal 7 and I needed to take a shuttle bus outside. The location of bus stop was not marked obvious. It took forever for one bus to come, super crowded.  Every stops took a long time for people going up and down with bags. Finally I arrived at the Terminal 7 I only had 20 minutes before my flight taking off. There was a long line for security checking. I talked to the guy who was assisting and got the permission to cut the line, but it still took me about 10 min. I ran with all my might and ...... still one minute too late for my flight. I complained to the person at the podium. With no emotion showing on her face, she told me: “Go to the customer service”. I guess she sees someone like me everyday. I booked my next flight but need to wait for 8 hours. So I got time to write you.... Now my jet-lag starts to attack me. I crawled to a corner seat like a homeless guy, while the background music were singing: “Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle all the way .....”

Goodbye Beijing

One month has passed so quickly. Tomorrow I will be on my way back to the US. Even I am still here, I have already started to miss this place. My parents are getting old. They have problems which I don’t see good solutions. I wish them the best and be prepared to be back to them as quick as possible. This is a city full of energy and opportunities. There is so much she can offer. I am excited that I have met many new friends this time, especially artists. I hope to see you again in the future. I want to thank all of you who helped me. I had a wonderful trip here. The photo I am showing today is an ideal image of Beijing, homey and beautiful. Goodbye Beijing. I will be back to see you again.

Mother

My mother is in better health than my father. We went out shopping together several times. I took this photo when we went to get dumpling wraps. In Beijing, if you know the local culture and where to get things you need, living is rather easy and inexpensive. You don’t need a car. You can get almost everything needed within walking distance. I am learning more and more, but the time to leave is coming soon as well. This is my life: forever changing.

Demo in Beijing 3

I am so happy I had the opportunity to continue my art in my hometown. After my two portrait demoes, I did a one day still life painting workshop in Beijing yesterday. This is my demo painting. I want to thank Patty Hodak for putting this workshop together in a super short time, especially, she organized this workshop in the situation that my blog is not visible. I want thank all the artists for attending. they come from Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Japan, and the United States. I felt so happy with this international art group.

On a Beijing Street 4

I went out with my mother doing some grocery shopping. This photo is showing she was talking with a vegetable vendor on the street. Most of people in Beijing get their grocery not from supermarkets, but the vendors like this one. The price is lower. Shopping is a big challenge for me in Beijing. I was trying to get some daily basics such as paper towels and light bulbs. It is not easy. I am really lost in my hometown. I feel really odd. I am both a native and a foreigner here.

The White Pagoda

I was born in Beijing, not far from this white pagoda. I had many childhood memories around this area. Today I went the place I was born. Our old house was gone completely. I went to where I went to school. The school was gone too. But I still can find traces of old days. The white pagoda is still there. It was built in 1279 as a part of a Buddhist temple. I walked slowly in the cold Beijing winter, watching the drama of the change. The scene in front of me was felt illusive and surreal. Time is a real artist. I was speechless in front its masterpieces.

On a Beijing Street 3

In the morning I went out search for an exotic breakfast. This scene got my attention. So  many people in Beijing make their living this way.

Demo in Beijing 2

I went to the Yin Yang again and did the second Demo. Next Thursday I will give a one-day still life painting workshop at this location. I feel so good I have found the opportunity to do art in my home town.


BTW, if someone of you are still interested in getting my 2012 desk calendar, please click the calendar banner on the upper right corner of this blog.