Demo at Salt Lake City

 

I am teaching a still life painting at Salt Lake City, and this is my first demo. I hardly have any colored objects in the setup, so it is good exercise of using colorful grays. 

Specular Quartet

I usually do not paint tight paintings, and many people in my workshops expressed that they want to learn to be "painterly". However, this one is an exception. I worked on the details intensively. I have learned that a specific painting "style" is actually the limitation of the artist. If you don't mind to be "nobody", you have opened the possibility of being anybody.

Timeless Beauty

 

Peace, Happiness, Love, and Beauty are the nature of our being. They can not be gained externally. They are always here. If you still look for them, you are moving in the wrong direction, because they never leave you. The flowers bloom only for a short while, but the Beauty is timeless. Therefore, stop searching, because you are Perfect.

Silver Prismatics

 

"Silver Prismatics", 11" x 14". After exploring the unknown art world for a while, I came back to my comfort zone. I am painting still life again. As an old dog, I have had a hard time to learn new tricks. Now I am at home, enjoying my own cup of tea, laying back in the homey coziness. We love the world, but we should love ourselves first.

Backyard Apples

 

We planted an apple tree in our backyard about 15 years ago. For more than a decade, it did not bear any fruit. Finally, we saw a few apples in the summer of 2019. I took 2 photos of them and waited for them to ripe. But we are not lucky, The squirrels got them first. For then on, we have not got any apples from that tree. Our only harvest was two photos. 

I decided to paint from one of the photos. The result was not bad. I like the color opportunities and the shadow patterns casted on the fruit. I must admit this kind of heavy texture painting is not my cup of tea.  The true expert is Derek Penix. I announced Derek's Workshop in Austin recently. The registration has been very active. Now we have only 5 openings still available. So please take your action as quick as possible. 

New workshop announcement: Derek Penix 2023

 

Now we have adapted to the new norm, and I will gradually resume my usual art activities. Before Covid, I had invited well known artists to my studio to teach painting workshops. Now I am going to do that again. I am very happy to announce that Derek Penix will come and teach a 3-day workshop in Austin. Derek is such a phenomenal artist that his expressive brushwork has inspired so many people. I have been so amazed to see how he can paint so freely and abstractly but still be able to represent whatever subjects he paints so accurately, vividly, and dramatically.  I wish I could have that kind of skills in my art. So this will be a great opportunity we can learn from the master. If you are interested in taking Derek's workshop, please check: http://www.qh-art.com/derek-penix-2023.html for detailed information and sign up. I know the time is still early, but this workshop will be full in a very short time. So please take an action quickly.