“Downtown Austin (Partial) (Day 14)"

I have almost a week at home before I go to teach another workshop. So I continued studying and painting my large "Downtown Austin" painting. I have spent two solid days, however the progress is painstakingly slow. I have seriously taken notes about my thought, my actions, my mistakes, and my discovers. Now my note about this project has 32 pages long so far and it is getting longer.

For self-learning painters, especially for painters who have been painting for a while, I highly recommend working on a few large paintings seriously and long term. This will save your time for going through what you have already known again and again, and staying in the unknown territory for as long as possible time. So you know your weak points. You work out solutions and get better. I know it is not fun working this way, and it is absolutely making no business sense if you are only market driven. To me, it is worth every minute. I am a late starter and have not got enough formal training. So this is my Academy.

"Demo at Montreal 2015 3" --- Sold

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My third demo was a mid-key floral. The yellow roses were not in good shape when I set them up. Being into this miserable world for too long, they kept wilting and fading. The gravity was mercilessly pulling their petals down to the center of the earth. I was using all my might to cheer them up and fight to use every minute to catch the last bit of their vitality and documented on my canvas. Oh boy It was a demonstration of struggling, both me and the roses.

Art is always a type of struggle. Things are not always working out. We don't have control on our fate. The only thing we can do is keeping on trying, and try a little more.

"Demo at Montreal 2015 2" --- Sold

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This is my second demo. A couple of yellow roses and a wood thingy in the back. It was very enjoyable of painting it. This painting is still available. I put it on the Daily Paintworks.

I am on my way back home this afternoon. I have taught 3 workshops in a row in this trip. It is a new milestone on my art journey.

"Demo at Montreal 2015 1" --- Sold

Bonjour! I came out of US again. My 9th workshop of the year has been conducted in Montreal Canada. Great thanks to John Goodger for organizing and to all the Canadian artists for attending. I have really enjoyed these a few days. This is my first demo.

"Demo at Lowell 2015 3" --- Sold

This is my 3rd demo. It is a new experiment. At the art center, I saw may spools of springs and ribbons. They have all kinds of colors and sizes. So I decided to give them a try. I formed this composition, and did this high key painting. It was challenge of doing this experiment in front of all workshop artists as a demo. I demonstrated how I struggled to learn new stuff.

The workshop at Lowell has ended. I have arrived at Montreal Canada yesterday.

"Demo at Lowell 2015 2" --- Sold

This is the second demo. Roses and a turnip were together. It was kind of odd, but I was look into the colors for the painting. I guessed it was all right.

The workshop went well so far. I have tried my best to make the students learning easily and the information I give was practical and easy to remember. I hope the people who took my workshops can progress steadily and become better painters.

"Demo at Lowell 2015 1" --- Sold

Flown out of Portland OR, I have arrived at Grand Rapids MI. Thanks to Franciscan Life Process Center and Kathy Bechtel for organizing my 8th workshop of the year. Thanks to all Michigan artists for attending. It is very quiet and peaceful here, It reminds me the meditation retreat I did a year ago. It is the world it should be.

"Demo at Hood River 2015 3" --- Sold

This is the third demo at Hood River Workshop. I tried to approach my still life painting a little differently. I hope my high key painting will mature someday. Currently it is in the middle of development. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. That will help me significantly to grow.

Recall these a couple of years, I feel I have entered a relatively difficult phase of my art career. I need to recharge badly. However, I don't have enough time to concentrate on learning new stuff, and my existing style of painting has got too stylish. I personally don't feel satisfied with the current status, and long for new growth. I have been patiently studying with my very fragmented time, taking notes, did a large amount of research. You may not see much of changes on the surface in a short run, but I am getting better. I have discovered a lot of unknowns in my own art education, and little by little I am filling the gaps. For a while, you may still see too many similar demos paintings, but I am working hard and need your encouragement and guidance.

"Demo at Hood River 2015 2" --- Sold

Low key still life painting is the scheme of my second demo. I felt pretty happy about this one. The color is harmonious. The center of focus is obvious, and the reading is smooth. The information about the bottle in the background is just adequate. I hope you enjoy this painting too.

"Demo at Hood Rive 2015 1" --- Sold

My 7th workshop of the year has just finished at Hood River, OR. I want to thank Columbia Center for the Arts for organizing this workshop, especially Ceri and Sally. Thanks to all artists from Oregon and Washington States for attending. This is my first demo. The setup is very simple, but all the objects in this setup manipulate light differently. Painting light is the key.

"Dies Ranch 2"

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The day before yesterday, Hsin Yao and I went plein air painting. We went to this old house near where I live. I have painted this place many times. It was cloudy. Hsin Yao loved it. I like light and shadow. Cloudy day is challenge for me. I have learned a lot by watching him painting. I was amazed how much paint he used - at least 5 times of the amount I used. You can imagine how rich and thick his painting was. You can tell how confident a painter is by how much paint he/she put on palette. So quantitatively, Hsin Yao is 5 time more developed than I am.

With the Rising Stars

Occasionally in my workshops, I lament that I am getting old, and not as energetic as before. I got stopped almost right way. Many said: "Qiang you are still a kid". Now this time I really do feel I am getting old. The three young artists next to me are the real rising stars in Art

Hsin Yao Tseng (young man taller than I am, age 28. He looks 18 to me) is already a very successful artist living at San Francisco. This photo was shot at the InSight Gallery at Fredericksburg, TX at reception of his solo show. The art work behind us are part of his cityscape paintings. He is also showing at Legacy Gallery, AZ, and  Waterhouse Gallery, CA. His art has been featured in many art magazines.

Jenna Ma (young lady on left, age 16. I hope she is not mind I mention her age). She is the Silver Medalist of the National Scholastic in Art and Writing Awards of 2015. Kyle Ma (young man on right, age 15, unrelated to Jenna) is very seriously developing his art in oil painting. He has shown his  art works at the Whistle Pik Gallery in Fredericksburg.

I am fifty some year old now, but my mind is still young. As a relatively late starter, the time is very valuable to me. I treat every painting I do as my first one. I want to learn sincerely and gain as much as I can. I treat every painting I do as my last one as well. I want to try my best to make the painting have the utmost impact I like it to have.