"Peaches, Leaves" --- Sold

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I want to thank all the friends for providing information and tips for my marina assessment question. I will try again.
I am not quite sure what I am doing with my today’s painting. You know I have done a few leaf paintings not long ago. Obviously, I haven’t done enough. There are many issues, but I will keep trying. I will make it some day.

"Cypress Creek Marina"

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I live near the beautiful Lake Travis at west of Austin. There are so many wonderful spots for painting. However, I have to say that I feel really frustrated here. There are so many marinas, but all of them are private. They are gated and require codes to get in. I have contacted their managements and asked if I can organize group paint-out or do plein air workshops there. I got the answer “no” all the time. I understand their concerns. This marina (Cypress Creek Marina) is only 5 min. drive from my house. It is an ideal place for painting plein air. I have a friend who has a boat docked there. So I got in once with him. Today I went there by myself. I parked my car outside the gate, and walked in from the side of the gate. I did this sketch. At mean time, I was pondering. How can I bring a workshop into this place? If you have a good suggestion, please help me out. Thanks.

"Let's Drink"

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More high key paintings. Correct me if I am wrong: High key has more opportunities for color, while low key has more opportunities for value.

"Glass and Apple" --- Sold

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Most of my paintings are low key, because I believe that dark background can effectively enhance the lights on the focal point. Having done the same thing so many times, I want eagerly to see some changes. High key paintings I don’t do quite often, but I want to explore the potential. My today’s painting is relatively high key. I may do several more like this, and let you what I have learned.

"Waiting" --- Sold

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Every time when I take an out of town trip, I always end up quite a few days I can’t paint. My work piles up in my office and lab. I need to catch up to be in sync with what is going on in the company. I have to work more hours to balance out my off days for my trip. When I finally come back to my studio. My mind is in the stage of a complete blank. If there would be no commitment of daily painting, I would have quitted painting a long time ago. I have to force myself to pick up a brush. Just paint something as a warm-up. I always say that you must have an idea before you paint. Well, it is not always true. I am waiting for my art sense to kick in.

"Toronto Canada"

I am on my way home from my Toronto trip, and currently I am at the Charlotte Airport waiting for my flight back to Austin. Since I have to wait here for 4 hours, why don’t I get on-line and talk to you? I found a cozy spot at the Starbucks, and turned on my laptop. Canada is a beautiful country. The weather was so great these a couple of days. I felt the coolness of early autumn. Two days ago we went a water amusement park. My brother took Jonathan and Ray (J’s cousin) to go on the rides. I am too chicken to join them. However, my camera was busy and captured quite a few nice shots. I am so interested in children’s expressions. I want to share this one with you.

"Niagara Falls Canadian Side"

Hello from Canada. I am in Toronto visiting my brother. On the way from Buffalo to Toronto, we stopped by Niagara Falls. What a spectacular art the Mother Nature can do! I am humbled and speechless in front this great masterpiece.
I am sorry I can’t ship the paintings and filters at this moment. I will send them right away after I return.

"Beau's Guest House"

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I live in west Austin near a beautiful lake called Lake Travis. On the side of Lake Travis, there is a beautiful place called the Oasis. The Oasis currently is only a restaurant, but it expanding tremendously. There will be a hotel, a gallery, and more stores added in soon. I went there did this plein air last week. The house in the painting belongs to the owner of the Oasis: Beau Theriot. After painting I ran into Beau. He is very nice guy and I will go there and paint again.

"Double Red" --- Sold

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Recently, I did quite a few experiments: leaves, figurative, and plein air. Well my today’s painting is coming back for my typical still life daily painting. It is like cooking. After tried several new recipes, I’d like to take easy, and come back to my old flavor.

"Barr Mansion" --- Sold

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It was so great doing plein air again. I went to paint with PAA yesterday at east Austin.
There is a Victorian house called the Barr Mansion. It was a very hot day. I set up my easel under a big pecan tree and did this sketch. There was a big tree branch behind me. I felt it should not cause any problems. But I was wrong. During one and a half hours I painted there, the branch moved. It gradually approached me. At first its leaves touched my head, and not too long, the leaves started to sweep my canvas. I have to stop. I stood there admire how this tree could grow so significantly fast within a couple of hours.

"Injured Beauty" --- Sold

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I had a couple of sick days earlier this week. This painting was done at that time. I did not deliberately want to show my discomfort, but my painting was so honest showing my mood. I am all right now. Having enough sleep is the key. I didn’t paint for several days and slept a lot. So please take care yourself.

2011 Workshop Announcement

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You may have noticed that I have updated my 2011 workshop schedule. At this moment, I have 10 workshops scheduled for 2011. I will teach in California, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Texas. If you are interested in my painting approaches, please contact my workshop organizers for information and signing up. I am looking forward to meeting you or seeing you again in the near future.

"Old Knowledge" --- Sold

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I really appreciate that so many friends letting me know that the object I painted previously was an old coalscuttle. I am learning everyday, Man! Thank you. My today’s painting is kind of related to learning. With the development of technology, books may soon become archaic too. I can’t imagine someday in the future that an artist paints (or creates an image with other means) a book and asks what kind of gismo he/she has just portrayed. I will be eager to tell that object is called a book, with which we used to store and pass on information in the good old days.