The Day of the Dead

 

It is almost Christmas, but my time is still at Halloween. I am still posting my EPAT paintings.  I was at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Art, and it happened to be the Day of the Dead celebration. I don't think I am ready to talk about death, but that day was all about it. I really liked the attitude of the Mexicans toward death. The celebration was quite joyful. Colorful skulls and skeletons were all over the place. People wore colorful cloths and danced happily. Children got their faces painted like skulls. Death we usually think is a sad thing, but the atmosphere that day was quite the opposite.  I still felt reluctant to relate death to happiness, but I start to accept the mortality is significantly important. Our planet is finite. If we all were immortal, there would be no places for us to stay. I painted a small roadside memorial that day. I kind of like it, but of course no collectors want to touch it. That was all right. My wife took quite a few photos and video clips. I made a YouTube video with them to document this lively dead day.

It is just an urn

 

This outdoor still life was the last painting I did at my ranch stay near Junction TX. I was very comfortable with this subject matter. During the painting time, the light changed from sunny to cloudy, but it didn't bother me at all. As an artist, I constantly try new things, feeling I must go beyond my current self. Now I doubt this kind of mentality is right. Why couldn't we just simply accept who we are and be comfortable with ourselves?

My Neighborhood

 

I live in a typical Texas subdivision. Every morning, I like to take a walk in the neighborhood. It happens it is the time when the light is fantastic. I snapshot quite a few photos. Now I start to use them as references for painting. For this one, I emphasize the warm and cool color relationship. I hardly used green and any other local colors. The entire color scheme is dominated by the light source colors. This project helps me to develop a practical strategy for landscape paintings. I have documented my approach and made a video to share it. 

Small Figure Study

 

I did many landscape paintings, but I have not put figures in them very often. Now I want to study more and make myself comfortable of using figures. I post this recent small figure study combined with a video showing my step-by-step approached to do this painting. Please let me know if this video is helpful. Thanks.

Gardener's Storage

 Continuing the exploration of shape designs. painting looks realistic enough, but my attention was on the geometric shapes. I used to use abstractness to enhance realism. Now my way of thinking is the other way around. This "other way around" thinking will take us closer to the truth. 

Afternoon at Tilghman Island

 

Happy 4th of July to all of you. The month of July is the time of Plein Air Easton, which is the event marked the starting point of my plein air painting journey a few years ago. Unfortunately, I am not attending Plein Air Easton this year. I did this small boat painting based on a photo I took from one of the previous Easton events. I really enjoy painting boats. The graceful curvatures, the color echoing of the water reflections, the illusive foreshortening of the perspective, and the vertical and horizontal rhythms of masts, posts, and the horizontal structure in the far field, are a few aesthetical elements of the marine paintings. 

"Utopian Harmony"

 My very first Zoom workshop started yesterday. This is the demo painting (well, I did some finish touches offline). I consider this workshop is a new milestone on my art journey. If I can use one word to summarize this event, it will be "quantitative". You might think this word maybe the most irrelevant for an art activity, but that is exactly why this workshop is so significant. I have introduced "measuring cups" to my students, and "painting by numbers" will not be dirty words in art practices any more. 

"Demo at Plein Air Live"

I did a virtual demo on "Plein Air Live". The purpose of this demo was to show how I use a "Color Picker" app to guide my color mixing accurately and efficiently. This app is free and it available on my website. Please check: http://www.qh-art.com/color-picker-app.html. Currently, this app runs only on my website. We are working on the downloadable version now, and hope soon you can download it from the App Store, and Android Store. I hope our effort may make your painting progress a little faster.

"Demo in Sacramento 2020 3"

It was my first time painting daffodils. It was a difficult flower to paint. I think I did all right.

I have been back home at Austin for about two weeks so far. Like the majority, I did not go anywhere and I am pondering what this Covid-19 pandemic means to an artist. I am learning how to move my teaching online. My floral painting DVD is coming in a few days. My son Jonathan is helping me. We have finished the video and audio editing. Now we are finalizing the file conversion from a mp4 to a DVD. Now April comes, I hope the turning point comes soon.

"Demo at Templeton CA 2020 3" --- Sold

The ref photo for this demo was shot at Moro Bay, not far from Paso Robles. It was a very busy scene. I used the photo to show how I simplify and made the painting possible. I painted this scene before. I was happy I did it again.

"Demo at Templeton CA 2020 2"

Paso Robles California is super beautiful. For my second demo I used a photo I took right here. I love the rolling hills here. I wish I can paint plein air in this beautiful wine country.

"Demo in Charleston 2020 3" --- Sold

I did two still life demos and two landscape demos on my recent Charleston workshop. This is my first landscape demo, painted from a reference photo I took at Easton Maryland. We worked on linear perspectives and painting textures with this demo.

"Demo in Little Rock 2020 3" --- Sold

Of course my last demo was floral. All the students brought flowers to the class in the morning. I have 15 people in my workshop, so we go tons of flowers. I took one flower from each students and form a bouquet of flowers. Now here is the painting. I have got better with this composition. Painting flowers is hard, but practice makes perfect.

"Demo at Gainesville GA 2019 3" --- Sold

Flowers and more flowers. This is my final demo painting in Gainesville. I am in the mood of celebration. I have made another great year of painting and teaching. I am so grateful. Thank you all my art students.

"Demo in Huntsville 2019 3" --- Sold

Happy Thanksgiving my artist friends. I feel so grateful to all of you for your support and encouragement to me during this hectic 2019. We have almost reached the end of the year, and I am happy I have made so far not badly. I know sincerely I can not make it without your help and support. Like this demo painting: this small sailboat (my art) is docking in this relatively calm bay, resting, and preparing to sail to the turbulent sea again. Thank you so much.

"Demo in Huntsville 2019 2" --- Sold

This small house is at Easton, MD. I took a photo of it when I was there for the Plein Air Easton Festival. It was a good example of 2-point prospective.

"Standing by me" --- Sold

I was completely lost when I entered our "Quick Draw" competition location. The roping contest was going white hot. Cowboys and horses are dashing out in a speed of zillion miles per hour. Am I supposed painting in this kind of situation? you must be kidding. I stood there like a piece of wood for at least 45 min, didn't do anything. Then I used my slowest paces painted this one. I only did a as few as possible strokes on my panel, but I try show there are zillion of people and animals there. Oh boy, life is so oxymoron.

"Demo in Yangshuo 2019 3"

I have just come back from China last night. Since Internet difficulties, I have not able to post for 40 days. You might have thought I have fell into a crack of the world, well to me, it was felt that I have been to another planet. Thank God I am back.

I want to share one painting I did on my Yangshuo workshop. It was so beautiful there and we have spent 5 spectacular days. Soon I will post a video on Youtube to show what kind of place we have been.

This painting is available, so let me know.

"Demo at Easton 2019 1" --- Sold

In July, I taught two workshops (Eaton MD and Sunbury PA), and participated the Plein Air Easton competition. I was on the road for 20 days. Now I have been back to Austin for a week, working on projects at my off-the-grid place. I did 15 paintings at Easton and 3 in Sunbury. I will show you gradually. I am happy my art journey keeps on going.

We have decided to put our house out the market. There are a few major remodeling projects need to be done before we sell it again. Thank God that someone is interested in renting our new house. I hope it goes through smoothly.

I enjoy painting houses and love the architectural beauty. Now I feel them so mysterious. When I came to US many years ago. I have no idea about real estates and how the capitalist system works. How come you have something that you have used for a while, but you can sell it with a higher price than you paid to get it new. It does not make sense, does it?

"Demo in Austin 2019 3" --- Sold

Somehow I forgot to post this one. I am pretty sure that old clock is older than I am. Time is an interesting thing. We think it is linear. The future can never meet the past. Well, the clock tells us something different. Time goes in circles.