"San Angelo Roses" --- Sold

 

This one is a plein air piece I did at the San Angelo Community Rose Garden. It was a wonderful day. I will paint more flowers outdoors. It is so different.

Real Plein Air Experience

 

I have made a new Youtube video of the accident during one of my plein air painting sessions on EPAT competition. A strong wind knocked my easel over and crash my painting into the dirt. I did not rescue the disaster immediately, but instead, I documented what was going on with my phone. I had put a footage on Instagram and got more than 7,000 views. Now I am back to my studio, so I v-logged this accident. You may view this at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jXDqzh-JOo and have a good laugh.

"Water Lily Impression"

 

This is another plein air experimental piece. The location was at the "International Water Lily Garden" in San Angelo. The painting was relatively large (18" x 24"). My intention was concentrating on the color design and using as less as possible representational elements. I would not say the experiment was successful, but it was not a failure either. I did gain color freedom, but the harmony needs quite amount of work. I have learned.

"Quillen's Ranch House" --- Sold

 

I had a bad crash when I did this painting. However, I have repaired it. So not problem, but have a big laugh. Now, the painting is no long categorized as "oil on board", but it is a "mixed media".

A window of Texas

 

I am experimenting this vertical composition. It is also my first time painting cactus. 

"Coralina Ranch Castle"

 

The first day of the EPAT, we have stayed at this spectacular castle. I did this painting for the owner. We had a great day there.

"Backyard Roses"

 Continuing painting plein air in my backyard. I really like this one. I did not work hard on colors this time, but I spent some time on drawing and edges. I must say I have not done enough plein air on flowers. I did most of my florals on my still life setups. I usually buy flowers from grocery stores. The leaves usually are in bad shapes. This one really gives me a good feeling. I want to paint more floral from gardens.

I am on my way to San Angelo, Texas to participate the En Plein Air Texas painting festival. This is my first in-person event since March. I am very excited. I will let you know how it goes.

Shed in the back yard

 

This is another plein air piece. The location was in our backyard. The time was about 2:00 pm. The painting was started a year ago. It was abandoned after it had barely a composition sketch. I did not know why I didn't complete the painting at the time. I worked on it a few more days recently and I may say it is finished. I would not say I really like it, but it did show some progress of my skills after I researched on color during this precious time of the Covid isolation. I become more sensitive about colors in the shadow. I like the color of siding of the shed in the shade. This one and my previous "Off the Grid" painting are two my most recent plein air works. I find I am slowing down significantly. None of these paintings was alla prima. I have been seen more and mix more colors. Although the resulted paintings have not shown significant difference from my previous plein air works, but some feelings are happening.  

Details of large paintings

 

Recently, I have been learning the skills of making videos. I have made another one today and just posted it on my Youtube channel. Please go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1MiDqABpZM to watch it. For a while I have been painting relatively large paintings. I know it is hard to show the effects of large paintings if I only post static painting images. So I made this video and I can zoom into the details of the paintings. Since the Covid 19 Pandemic, fewer people go to galleries to see the shows. Maybe this video can give you some impression of my gallery paintings. This can be an idea of doing a "virtual solo show" on the internet. Nowadays, Youtube is so popular, but I have just started to use it to promote my art. I don't know I will become those who are called as "Youtubers", but I am willing to test the water. So please comment on my videos and give me suggestions. I appreciate you help me to grow.

Plein Air "Off the Grid"

 

I painted plein air at my "off the grid" haven yesterday. I remembered I have talked about my DIY project of building off the grid before. I was inspired by Henry David Thoreau's "Walden" and did this project mainly in 2019. This year, I have added an attached bathroom to the main structure, and built decks in the front. Nine solar panels provide the power so I can turn on lights, run a refrigerator, and the most importantly, drive an AC to beat the super hot Texas summer. I use rainwater for shower and other cleaning, and propane gas for cooking and heating in the winter time. I enjoy very much when I stay there. Now, all of us are going through the Covid 19, and it becomes more significant to know how to live sustainably. 

The weather is perfect. When I was painting, all the details I went through during the construction came alive. It was a good moment. I realize that I can not be only a painter, I must know all the skills to survive. 

Zoom demo is on Youtube now

 

Please watch the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-fgG6MrOvU.

I did a painting demo live on Zoom today. It was problematic, and it might have caused some artists who has registered, but not able to watch. All of this was due to my lack of knowledge of using Zoom. The problem was that I have sent out the wrong invitation. I copied the invitation info and pasted to the email I sent out, and I did not know how to verify the correct meeting ID until the time the meeting started. I copied an different meeting invitation and sent it to you. Fortunately, my son Jonathan figured it out. and helped me to start the meeting with the ID I have sent. If you have missed the live demo, I sincerely apologize to you. We live in this so called "Information" age, but the fact is we are lack of more information. Just a few days ago, I knew nothing about Zoom. I jumped into the water without knowing how to swim. I am learning dangerously. I wish I could have prepared thoroughly to start to do things, but we don't have that kind of time. Life is too short, we have to take the risk. I am glad this live demo was not a complete failure. The result is better than I thought.

Now I have put the demo on Youtube (it is another deep water I need to swim through). Please go to the above link to watch. I hope this video helps you. For the people who have seen the demo live, you may watch the painting getting finished in this video.