"Mayfield Water Lilies"

I have finished this large (24" x 24") painting. I concentrated on the realistic presentation of the water lily pads and flowers. It is totally different style from my previous large painting "ICU heroes". When should I do a realistic painting, and when an abstract one? I feel the control is not up to me, especially large paintings. I need quite a few days to paint one, so I just go with the flow. The painting evolves right in front of me, Just like the flowers. I don't think I "created" this painting, I felt like an gardener. My job simply is to provide the as good as possible conditions for the water lilies to grow and bloom. If the painting turns out a good one. I usually spend a long time in front of it to enjoy the beauty of the visual presentation.

"Lake Brownwood State Park 3"

I went to the same location where I did my first painting in the Lake Brownwood Park. I was not completely happy about the colors I used for my first painting. It was so dry that all the grass has turned into that yellowish dry grass color. What color I should use to paint the dry grass, and also the green bushes. It was so vibrant green. I decided to paint again. This is what I did. I think I did better this time.

"Lake Brownwood State Park 2"

My 2nd plein air painting is the Recreation Hall in the park. It is ideal place for painting workshops. Well, now there is nobody here. I enjoy painting buildings and I was not in a hurry. So I got something like this.

"Lake Brownwood State Park1"

Over the weekend, our family camped at the Lake Brownwood State Park. I did 3 plein air paintings. This probably my very first plein air painting outside of my house since the pandemic started. I felt rusty, but I have gradually gained momentum. The park was so quiet. The entire camp site had only 3 sites occupied. We have enjoyed very much the beautiful tranquility.

"Mayfield Lilies" Phase 3

I have not finished it yet, but I will be out of my studio for a few days, so I feel I should update you the status. I enjoy painting water lilies. To make this kind of painting more interesting, I have been exploring the richness of the texture and color. This painting is 24" x 24". To me it is a large painting. So I want enrich the painting as much as I can. Not much on details, but the abstract beauty.

"Water Lilies in Austin" Phase 1

 

Life goes on, painting goes on too. I started another painting yesterday. I loaded my ref photo with my app on an Android Pad (it is very cheap $85 from Walmart). We are still developing the app on Android devices. It is almost ready, but still need some improvements. Then we will get this app on Apple products. We have crossed many technical learning curves. At this moment, This app is on my website. You can access it for free. In addition, it will be helpful if you have taken my "color" courses. Please visit my website, then click "Apps" and "Online Teaching" tabs. Let's make progress together.

"ICU Heroes"

 

I have finished the painting "ICU Heroes" I want to acknowledge Mr. Phillip Reese and "The Sacramento Bee" for the reference photograph. I kept the paint work rather rough presenting a feeling of movement. It must be very exhausted and stressful working in ICUs. Let us help them by not getting sick. Please take Covid 19 seriously: stay home as much as you can and showing you care by wearing masks.

"ICU Heroes" Phase 2

This is my second session on "ICU Heroes" I am using my "Color Picker" app (on my website) to identify my colors, and mainly using a palette knife to block in. I want to thank all the wonderful friends who commented on my previous post. We will go through this difficult time. I can not predict the future, but I know well that we should use the time we have to grow, to be a better artist, and a better person. 

 

"ICU Heroes" phase 1

 

I have decided to do an ICU painting, because I feel personally grateful to all the doctors, nurses, and other medical workers fighting Covid 19 on the front line. In the morning of April 8, I got a call from Toronto. My brother told me that his wife has got the Covid and moved into ICU. Three days later, my brother was also hospitalized and in ICU as well. For more than a month since then. I have been calling ICU daily to check on my brother and sister-in-law. I have talked with so many wonderful people in the ICU. My brother was on a ventilator for more than a month, and my sister-in-law was in ICU for about two months. Finally both of them have recovered. I want to thank all the wonderful people in the ICU for saving their lives. They are risking their own lives to help others. This pandemic has been disastrous for so many people, so many families. We all should try our best to help.

"Walking Dog on Wheels"

 

For a while, my mind has been on developing mathematic model for color systems. I did not paint much. This painting was on my easel for quite a long time. I finished it today. Painting figures and portraits is my goal for being an artist. However, I have not paint this genre during most of my painting times. All the still lives and landscapes for me are really the preparation for the challenges of figure painting. This one is another painting I did from my photos shot in San Miguel Mexico. I hope you like it.

"Color Mixing" class is truly online

The "Color Mixing" class has gone through the evaluation successfully. Now it is truly online. You can take this class on the internet without the concern that video takes too much your computer space for downloading. Please visit: http://www.qh-art.com/online-teaching.html for details. Thank you so much for supporting me. During this difficult time, I have seen more the beauty of the human nature. Let's help each other, we will go through the hard time, and the world will be more beautiful.