"Demo at Jacksonville 2" --- Sold

My dreams are going. My paintings are coming. This is my second demo at my workshop.

"Demo at Jacksonville 1" --- Sold

After my last post, I slept and had a wonderful dream. In my dream, I had driven 17 hours crossed Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and finally ended up at Jacksonville, Florida. I taught a workshop there, and here is my first demo painting. Now my dream is still going. I am not ready to wake up yet.

I want to thank Eileen Corse for organizing my workshop again. Thank you so much my artist friends. Many of you have driven long distance to attend this workshop. I hope what you have learned those three day can have some positive effect on your art.

"Sugar Bowl Study" --- Sold

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I got this small sugar bowl over the weekend, and decided to do a small study with it. I was so tired when I started, and almost fell in sleep in the middle of the process, but I push myself and got i t d o n e. B y e . z z z z z z ....

"Light"

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I try to dramatize the translucent light in this painting. When light goes through the tangerine, I saw the beautiful glow of the orange and red in contrast the dark background. The cool blue color of the pot enhances the warmth of the tangerine. It was so much fun doing this painting and it will be in my show as well.

"Night"

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It is night. It is dark. but I still have the color, reflecting the light afar.

This painting emphasizes more on light effect, not much on brush work. I planned the light carefully, and made my value distribution consistent.

I will have 3-men show coming up. I have to work really hard and quick to generate enough paintings for the show. This painting will be one of them. This show is a new real challenge to me. With my crazy life, doing solo and group shows is almost impossible. However, I am willing to give it a try.

"Demo at Magnolia 3" --- Sold

This is my 3^rd demo on the workshop. It is a rose painting. Up to the date, I have been doing rose demos for almost all my workshops. I like to paint roses in the bud stage. I don’t quite like to paint roses in full blooming. I like simple things. If you ask me if I have a secret of painting roses, I will say that rose does has an anatomy. You want to consider a rose is like a cylinder. You want to know well how the light shining on this cylinder, where the shadow goes and where the light goes. Make sure your value is correct. Painting roses has no room for overwork. So be careful with every stroke you put on. In addition, the stem and little green things under the rose are very important items. They provide shape and color contrast. So you want include them as much as you can. Now you know how I paint roses. I hope this small tip will bring many beautifully painted roses to the world. Happy painting to all of you.

"Demo at Magnolia 2" --- Sold

Spring has arrived in Texas. One of the workshop artists brought me this tree branch full of red flowers. So I did this demo painting. Please enjoy.

"Demo at Magnolia 1" --- Sold

I have just completed another workshop at the beautiful Magnolia, TX. I want to thank Marty Hatcher for hosting my 5th workshop at the wonderful ARLC. Thank you all great artists for attending. I made many new friends, and felt so good seeing quite a few old friends coming back. This painting is my first demo. It is very typical showing my design ideas.

"Addie 2"

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I did another portrait study. I painted her hair rather abstract. I tried to form some kind of design to make portrait painting more interesting. more paintings and experiences are needed, but I surely had a lot of fun.

I am on my way to my next workshop teaching, and I will let you know how it goes.

"Red Table Cloth" --- Sold

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After my previous post, I have received so many kind emails and comments about the magazine article on my art. I feel like a marathon runner passing a milestone. I am really touched by your cheers. I took the water bottle you handed to me, quenched my thirst, energized my body, and kept on going. I know well I have a long way to go, but I believe I can make it, because you are with me no matter where. Thank you very very much.

I want to share this small painting with you today. I am exploring new possibilities of using light. I like the reflections from the red table cloth to the small white pot. I can't believe I can put cadmium red light directly on a white object. I like the drama.

A magazine article about my art

Please allow me to brag a little today. I am so excited that I have been featured on the March issue of the Southwest Art Magazine. You can read a rather detailed story about my art and me. If you don't have the hard copy of the magazine, you may read the article online from the Southwest Art Website. Recall the journey I made so far in the art world. I feel very happy. I really enjoyed this big and wonderful community. People in it are so positive and supportive. I want thank you all. You make me feel meaningful.

"Heating Up the Water" --- Sold

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This small painting was done at my country home. I didn't use artificial light at all. Both the setup and my canvas was under true north light illumination. I really enjoyed the subtle color changes on the kettle. After cutting down my engineering working hours, I can paint during the day sometimes. I am amazed what natural light can offer.

I talked my country home before. It is two acres in Texas Hill Country. There is a mobile home on it, not in good shape. I am off the grid. I made a solar panel that provides me lighting during the night. I have to haul water from the creek down in the valley. I can cook with a camping gas stove. Last night was my first night staying here. Everything is rather primitive, but I feel good because I am in control. Not like my city home, I feel I was controlled by the house. My country home is my experiment of real living. I am reading Henry David Thoreau, and my country home is my Walden.

Workshop Announcement ---- Zhaoming Wu Figure Painting

Zhaoming Wu is an internationally well known figurative artist. He has the secrete of creating spectacular figure paintings just like the image above. Please check Zhaoming's website to see his incredible art work. I am very excited to announce that Zhaoming Wu will come to Austin in May and teach a 5-day figure painting workshop. Song and I are extremely happy to organize his workshop. Please check the workshop flyer for information and sign up. We will try our best to assist you in studying with this modern master.

"Memory of the Old Days"

Recently, I didn't post as frequently as I wanted, but I was literally a daily painter. I painted everyday. Instead of doing many small paintings however, I did only one, but a relatively large painting. I have spent more than 10 day on it. This one is different from most of my paintings. I emphasized on the subtle details, but not much to the boldness of the paint quality. This was a wonderful exercise for me. I practiced more on the long term painting process. I was confronted in many areas that I was lack of skills and ideas. For a couple of days I was in real ageny (spelling? the checker didn't work today). I wanted to quit many times, but I am glad I didn't. I think I have grown quite significantly by doing this serious painting.

I am going to submit this painting to this year's Oil Painter's of America National Exhibition. I hope I get lucky.

"Red Rose Study 4" --- Sold

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This is another rose study I did recently. I have posted this painting as a "Challenge" on the Daily Paintworks website. You are welcome to take the challenge, paint a red rose, and submit the image of your painting to Daily Paintworks Challenge. I am looking forward to see your rose there. Happy painting and happy Valentines day.

"Addie"

Not For Sale

I have painted too many still lifes, and I hope you don't get bored with them. For a change, my today's painting is a portrait. I did it on Monday night at my friend Eric's studio. Addie is a very beautify high school student. She came to Eric's home as a baby sitter that night. It has happened that our model could not come. After all the children went to bed. Addie sat for us as first time modeling. She is a very good model. Her facial features are perfect. As a still life painter, I don't know human anatomy enough. However with a perfect model like Addie, I had a very easy ride. I like this portrait a lot. So I am going to keep it for a while.

"Bronze and Copper" --- Traded

After my Sacramento workshop, I went to the Bay Area and visited my friend Fongwei Liu. He is a wonderful figurative and portrait painter, and teaches the graduate level painting classes at Academy of Art University in San Francisco. If you are not familiar with his work, I highly recommend you check Fongwei's art blog. You will be amazed what this young artist can do. He has won an award last year at the 12th Annual International Portrait Competition hosted by the Portrait Society of American. In the near future, I will invite Fongwei coming to Austin and teaching a workshop. I will announce that when the workshop is confirmed.

I did this painting in Fongwei's studio. I learned quite a bit from him

"Demo at Sacramento 3" --- Sold

With this painting I demonstrated how I do onions. A group of workshop artists set it up for me. I liked the subtlety of the colors. I had a wonderful time in Sacramento, and I will go there again.

"Demo at Sacramento 2" --- Sold

Today is the Chinese New Year (Rabbit). I'd to wish all of you 新年快乐 (Happy New Year)!

This is the second demo I did at the workshop. The photo is not very good, but you get the idea. Sometimes, I like to set a dark object in front and keep my major illumination behind it. The contrast can enhance the light effect on the center.

"Demo at Sacramento 1" --- Sold

Today, mercury lamps are shining on black cubicles in a concrete building under a freezing 25 F outside. Yesterday, lemon trees were shading pink flowers on a grassy sidewalk in cozy 65 F breeze. Hello my friends. I just came back from California last night, now trying to catch up what I missed those several days in Austin.

I did a workshop at Sacramento. I want to thank Patris and Scott of S12 for having me back. It feels so good of seeing old friends. Moreover, I am excited meeting all new friends there. Thank you all so much for keeping me going. I really enjoyed your company. This is my first demo I did. I hope you like it.

"Red Rose Study 3" --- Sold

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This red rose was in my backyard. The shape of the flower was a little odd. I have tried pretty hard to make it look like a rose. The colors of this rose is very rich. I love the deep orange color from the translucent light.

"Red Rose Study 2" --- Sold

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This is the same rose I used for my previous painting. I did it in a different angle. I feel freer this time.

Today I want to say something about on-line marketing. I am honored to be one of the 12 artists belong to an on-line gallery called The "Daily Paintworks". Recently, DPW has upgraded the website. When you get a chance please check it out. Besides my art, you will find other wonderful artists in it. I am very happy to be part of the DPW.

"Red Rose Study 1" --- Sold

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Finally, I have a small painting to post. I did this 5x7 last night. The Valentine's Day is coming soon, so I decided to do several red rose paintings. This is the first one. I hope I will do better than before.

"Around the Campfire"

Over the long weekend, I did this gallery painting. Please enjoy.

"Rosy Orange and Blue"

This is the third demo at HCAA. We tried something I have never done before. I asked workshop artists contributed items they wanted me to paint, and they did the setup for me. We paint the same setup together. I painted for a while, and they painted for a while. I like this method. The students can learn my approaches more specifically. This is how the painting ended up. I like the dry brush effect in the foreground.

"Cantaloupe and Cherries" --- Sold

This is the second demo I did at HCAA workshop. Some artist friends asked me why I always paint background dark. I think the answer is one word: CONTRAST. I want to show the light playing. I enjoyed painting the dancing high lights on the brass, the translucent glow of the cantaloupe, and shadowy dark crimson of the cherries. As a matter of fact, my sense of color is not that great. Using as wide as possible value range helps me to increase the power of the painting.

"Portrait study"

Last night I went to a live painting session organized by my friend Eric. The model had some problem and couldn't come. Eric's mother sit for us. Although she hadn't modeled before, she did a wonderful job. I did this oil sketch. I love to paint human, and I am confident I can do well. I just need to do more to get more experienced.

"Eggplant and Radishes" --- Sold

This is my first demo painting on the workshop at HCAA Houston. Vegetables are my recent concentration. The special beauty of those everyday stuff is so exciting. They nourish our body, give us energy, and they are very appealing to our eyes as well if you examine them on a still life platform.

I want to thank HCAA, especially Jerrie Powell and Sue Jackson, for organizing my first workshop of 2011. Thank you all the artists for attending it. I really enjoyed sharing my painting approaches with you all.

“Rose Impression"

Not for Sale

I did this one last Sunday. Song really likes this painting. So I am not going to sell it, but I share the image with you. I have done quite a few rose paintings so far. However, I still don't have the confidence to say I know how to do it. I struggle every time. I plan to paint more roses this a couple of months, and sincerely hope I can gain control eventually. If you feel that you don't know how to paint any specific subject, just paint more until you get it.

This Friday I will start my first workshop teaching. I will be in Houston.

"Turnip Study" --- Sold

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Thank you for viewing my first painting in 2011. The year of 2010 passed like a flash. I was in a hurry all the time. Now, it is the time to plan the new year. Be honest with you. I don't have a New Year's resolution. If I do, I really want to slowing down. I would like to have my 2011 looks more like this painting: very much down to earth. I want to spend more time learning. I want to simplify my life as much as possible. I hope I can manage more efficiently. It is my first time to paint turnips. It offers me opportunities to presenting nice purple colors. They are not showing off as apples and oranges. I feel the taste of life sometimes is more like the taste of a turnip.