"Brass Object" --- Sold

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Figurative is temptating, but I will save it for my future days. Now I am back to still life. I love shining stuff. High lights, reflections, and dramatic color changes make the specular objects so amazing to paint. I had this gismo for a long time. I got it from a thrift store. I have painted it a couple of times. But I don’t know what it is, and what it is for. Could someone tell me?

"Wow! Cool!" --- Sold

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I felt whimsical. Somehow I want to paint figurative today. As a matter of fact, figurative painting and portraits are my true love in art. However to be successful, they take much longer time. To my crazy life style, figurative is not very practical. Still life is for sure a shortcut. I can put aside issues like anatomy, perspective, proportion, and logistics like hiring models. I would be able to very quickly reach to the artistic part of painting: like value, color, edges and composition. Anyway, I came out of my systematic life today. I did this painting from a photo I took a while ago in a camping trip. This little boy was about two years old. He was so cute. He was so curious about a digital camera. Maybe he will be another engineer… Well, I think it would be better he will be a photographer.

"Gold and Silver"

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I did another large painting over the weekend. The composition is different from I used to do. It has shown more depth and gives more airy effect. The brushwork varies quite a bit from detail descriptions to loose suggestions. The background is highly abstract and vignette. The Richard Schmid influence is very obvious here. It is so interesting to see how the style changes. When we study from someone, our work will show the similarity. I will let the time to determine my style formation. This time I did use retouch varnish when I started the second day. I was really careful to protect the area that was still wet. I think it worked.

"A Red Cup" --- Sold

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After I visited Richard Schmid a month ago. I had been thinking about his approaches a lot. I like the way he uses the transparent wish that gives the painting a spontaneous look. The balance between unfinished seeing-throughs and layered detail depiction, and the contrast of sharp/soft edges really makes his style outstanding. I want to learn this approach and convert it into part of mine. My today’s painting is Schmidish I think. How do you like it? I don’t have much of leaves in the design. I start to working on the white drape. You will see more my drapery studies in the coming days.

"Intimate Time" --- Sold

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I got more information about using medium and finishing a painting in many days. Thank you so much. I will run some test and figure out which one will be suitable to my case.

I did a small painting yesterday. These peaches are from my backyard. They are really good looking, but do not taste good. So they are perfect still life objects. I continue my leave painting experiments. It gives me more and more interesting compositions.

"Behind the Branches" --- Sold

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Thank you. So many friends have shared their tips of the second day painting. Most people use retouch varnish and Liquin. I was hesitant of doing so because my lighter paints were still pretty wet (like in the peaches area). Once, I had sprayed retouch varnish on wet paint, and it dissolved the paint. If you have a painting partially wet and partially dry, what do you do? Ah-ha! I think I know: you paint with quick dry paints the first day, and paint with slow dry paints the second day. Am I right? Another question: If you spray retouch varnish, the painting surface gets sticky. Do you paint on sticky surface?

I painted a small painting last night. I was really working on those branches. To get the texture correctly, it surely took me some time.

"Backyard Harvest"

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Having been painting small daily paintings for a while. Now it is time to do some serious large pieces. I did this 18” x 24” over the weekend. You know I have been concentrating on painting leaves. This one starts to show a real progress. Painting large feels so different from painting small ones, especially the second day. I paint without using any medium. I have started to see issues with this approach. On the second day, my dark colors have dried quite a bit. They looked mat and lose the dark value. The paint surface is so sticky and difficult to get the effect I wanted. If you have experiences of finishing a painting in multiple days, I appreciate if you can share some of your tips.

"Demo at Wilmington 2" --- Sold

This is my second demo at my Wilmington workshop. I am sorry the photo is a little blurred. My study of leaves starts to pay off. This one did show more mystery and drama.

After several days at the North Carolina beach, I am back to my lab this morning working as an engineer again. You know what, toggling between art and science feels like traveling on a Time Machine. I belong to two completely different worlds, in which people are expecting utterly different things from me...... Oh. I’d better to do my photonic measurement now. My boss will call me for the result very soon. He did not know I have snuck out for a while and taught a workshop. If you know him, please keep the secret, will you?

"Demo at Wilmington 1" --- Sold

I am at the Wilmington airport waiting my flight back to Austin. The workshop was very successful. I want to thank Sandy and Denise for organizing this workshop. Thank you all my new artist friends for attending. This is my first demo, very typical representation of my still life painting. I really enjoyed Wilmington, beautiful beaches, Good weather, quiet and cozy. The airport is small and convenient. I have no problem in travel and parking. People are very nice and friendly. The only issue is that I am always in a rush. I wish I had more time to relax on the beach.

Wilmington, NC

I am in Wilmington, NC now teaching a workshop. The beach is so beautiful here. This is one of my snap shots. I have paintings showing in a local gallery called Fountainside Gallery. They have quite nice art works here.

I will be back to Austin on Monday. All sold paintings will be sent to you after I return.

"Nameless Greens"

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My obsession on painting leaves continues. I hope you have not got bored because I have been painting one subject matter over and over again. It is crucially important for me to obtain the skill of the leaf painting. Generally speaking, all subjects can be considered abstractly as shapes, value, color, edges, and brushworks. I have been painting and teaching these artistic concepts for a while now. However after having managed the basic foundation of painting, I want to achieve a deeper structural and anatomical understanding of the subjects. It will determine if my art will go to next level. In my today’s painting, I tried to create a textural expression of leaves. I am not there yet, but I am trying.

"Sweet Touch" --- Sold

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Happy Fourth of July! We had several friends coming over in the afternoon. We made dumplings and then watched the firework together.

Talking about friends, I want to talk about “Facebook” a little. I got many emails requesting to be my friends. Here I want to share a story with you.

One day, when I was traveling in New England, I was in a hotel and wanted to check my Facebook. Somehow I could not get my laptop connected to the Internet, but my IPad was able to pickup the WiFi signal (I think Apple is doing much better than PC nowadays). I knew my ID and password of my Facebook account; however, it was my first time using my IPad to login. Facebook didn’t recognize my IPad and wanted me to answer 10 security questions. The questions were quite interesting. I was giving 10 pictures that my “Facebook friends” posted on my wall: birthday parties, family reunions, and other social gatherings. I was supposed to identify who they were in those pictures with multiple choices answers. I had to get 8 correct answers to get in. Facebook assumes I should recognize who they are because they are my “friends”. Well I couldn’t do it because I accepted quite a few people as my “friends” upon their requests. They want to see my paintings, but I don’t know them in person. I failed the security test miserably. I was locked out from my Facebook account even I knew the password.

I still don’t know “Facebook” enough to use it effectively. I think my blog is best way to watch my art. So please follow my blog or sign up my mailing list. I am always your friend no matter you are in my Facebook or not.

"Brass Cradle" --- Sold

This is my demo painting at the InSight Gallery last night. About two weeks ago, I got this lovely brass pot at Keene, New Hampshire from an Antique shop, and this is my first time painting it. Because I am doing this painting in front of public, I was a little concerned before I started. I didn’t know how it would turn out. Well, I was relaxed when I saw the result. I guess, I will paint this darned thing more in the future.

"Moon with Clouds" --- Sold

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Continuing on with my leaf series, I found so many opportunities I haven’t taken before. I am going to explore them one by one to enrich my collection of various light effects showing on canvas. I really worked on edges on this one and used overlapping to create interesting shapes.

I will give a painting demo at the InSight Gallery in Fredericksburg, TX tomorrow starting at 6:00 PM. It is a free event. If you are in the area, you are more than welcome to stop by. I will share my painting approach with you.

"Green Supporting" --- Sold

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More leaf paintings and more leaves on the painting. I can paint leaves faster now. I still limited my attention to the shapes and values. I touched base of edges a little. Colors and paint quality still needs much more improvement.

"Covering Up" --- Sold

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I resume my small painting again and continue working on leaves. I start to pay attention on stems too. The shape variation of the design makes the painting more dramatic. The leaves and stems provide opportunities to achieve this shape variation. I am on the right track, I think.

"Demo at Newport 1"

Except issues with a pair of broken glasses, an expired driver’s license, and a few of Internet problems, I came back to Austin with a very success trip in New England. This painting is my first demo at my Newport workshop. I really want to thank Mrs. Judy Chaves for her wonderful job of organizing this workshop. I really enjoyed meeting a group of wonderful New England painters. I am sorry for posting painting on this workshop so late. I forgot to photograph them in time. If you have bought my demo paintings at this workshop, would you please take pictures of them and send the images to me so I can share them in this blog? Thanks.

"New England Forest"

After we met Richard and Nancy, my family arrived at Boston. We stayed with my friend there. They just moved into a new house, but there was no Internet yet. So I was out of touch for several days. I did this quick sketch at their backyard. You may see Richard’s influence on me right away. The painting needs more enrichment at the center of focus. I will get there after some practice. This style of painting is not what I used to do, but I feel comfortable with it. I feel confident I will get there soon.

Knocking on Master's Door

In the legendary Chinese martial art (or Kungfu) history, there were full of stories of how sincere novices approaching masters with courage and tenacity. The mentoring of the great masters significantly accelerated the growth of their disciples. I don’t know any martial art, but I admire the spirit. To bring my art to the next level, I want to learn from the best artists. After a long hesitation, I finally gathered enough courage. I knocked on the door of Richard Schmid and Nancy Guzik.

This is a remarkable milestone. On June 19, 2010 I had the great honor and met Richard and Nancy in Putney Vermont. We had a wonderful day together. My wife Song modeled to the masters. Richard and Nancy are so kind and given. I was so thrilled beyond any words can express. I wish I could articulate better, but I will show my appreciation by demonstrating improvement in my paintings. I can’t wait to come back to Vermont to learn a great amount.

I also met quite a few other great Vermont artists. I felt so lucky. Thank you all.

Yale University

We arrived at New Haven, CT yesterday. This morning we toured the Yale University. This trip will give Jonathan the first impression of several famous schools.

Cape Cod MA

Now, it is wonderful time to have a vocation in New England. The tourist season has not officially started yet, but the weather is great. Lodging is easy and cheap. No problem to find parking. I am in Cape Cod at this moment and feel great.

If you have purchased my paintings and filters this week, please forgive me that I cannot ship them to you right now. I will do that right away after I return home.

Newport RI

Right now, I am in a super beautiful place: Newport RI. There are so many good looking houses here. Oh! I think they are called mansions. I guess I have to sell more paintings so someday I can l buy one of them, but I am concerned. It will be too hard for Song to keep it clean.

"Nice Hairdo" --- Sold

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I am keeping work on the leaves. This one took less time than the previous one. That was a kind of progress, wasn’t it? I will continue working on different leaf pattern designs until I can manage to create adequate amount of drama I’d like to have.

"Full Moon" --- Sold

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I was really working on these leaves today. I usually pay less attention on leaves because they are considered as secondary supportive items, so I used more abstract approaches to paint them. It was all right doing that when I had a handful dealing with composition and center of focus. However, after I became more comfortable with the fundamentals, leaves have started capturing my attention. The variety of their shapes creates very dramatic effects. They provide endless design opportunities. They look casual and trivial, but they are pretty hard to paint.

"In and Out" --- Slod

I spent two mornings on this gallery painting. From the OPA show, I brought back some medium samples from Gamblin. I did an experiment on this painting. Instead of linseed oil, I used “Galkyd Lite” to coat my canvas before I paint. It felt OK, but the painting turned to a very “matted” look on the second day. I don’t quite like it, and I had really a hard time to photograph the painting. If you use Gamblin medium, would you please let me know how and why you use them. Thanks.

In my previous post, I asked questions about Facebook. I got many feedbacks. Most People who answered me considered Facebook is waist of time, and blogs are much better tools for artists. Thanks for your feedbacks. I will not spend much time to explore Facebook any more.

"Copper Cup and Oranges"

I spent all day yesterday and did this gallery painting. As matter of fact, I did this one on top of an old demo painting. I seldom work on my old paintings before because my mood has been changed from the early time. However, I think it is good exercise to paint the same painting twice. I can see what I did wrong earlier, and make the painting to the higher level.
Thanks to my Facebook friends for the happy birthday notes to me. At this very moment, Song and Jonathan are baking the birthday cake for me. Nowadays, Facebook became so popular. I have a Facebook account, but I am not active at all with it. I think my blog is adequate for me. However, I am really curious if I have missed something important if I do not facebook. If you really Facebook savvy and benefit a lot from it, I would appreciate greatly if you can share with me, and show me some tips. Thanks.

"Lou Neff Point"

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I painted with the PAA group yesterday at the downtown Austin. I felt good painting together with a few friends and weather was great too. However, my painting today taught me something. To be honest with you, this is not the type of painting I would like to paint. I always like to have something identifiable as a focal point. However, this one does not have one. I think it is the issue (if I don’t call it a problem) of the plein air painting. When the beauty of the scene in front of me cannot be represented by one or a small group of objects, I will have a hard time to make a painting work. Although it is not ideal, I still enjoyed the experience. It is good exercise on the color study; I got better paint quality as well.

"Highland Lakes Marina" --- Sold

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I went to a marina this morning and did my second plein air boat painting. It was a great day, plenty of sunshine with no wind. My color got improved a little, but I still went through a quite struggle. Somehow, I can’t paint thick with my plain air so far. I think it is because I am not certain with what color I should use. I did a lot of blending and smearing, which I know I should not do. Well that is part of the learning curve.

"Painter's Gadgets" --- Sold

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I continue working on my grays. I have a long way to go.

"Fixing Everything" --- Sold

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“If you have WD-40, you can fix everything.” I don’t remember where I heard this saying, but it is definitely very handy for most of people who like to working on cars or anything mechanical. I am not a very handy person, but I do have the wishful thinking that there is something existing that can eliminate all problems in the world. We have too many problems, especially now. Well, let us keep our wishes in dreams, and confront our everyday challenges face to face. For my today’s painting, I included the WD-40 as a carrier of blue and yellow. Different from my usual flower and fruit paintings, this one has more interesting shapes and designs. I spent much longer time setting it up, and really enjoyed painting it. Whether or not this type of painting has a market, I am curious. I put this WD-40 into the test, and see if it can fix a problem in art.