"Demo at Cincinnati 3" --- Sold

This is my third demo at Cincinnati. Different from the previous two, I did this one for general public. For various kinds of reasons many people are not able to attend my workshops. This demo only event serves as an alternative. As a matter of fact, I have another demo coming up on May 11, 7:00 PM at Wimberley, TX. Please contact Wimberley Valley Art League for the detailed information.

"Demo at Cincinnati 2"

This is the second demo I did at my Cincinnati workshop.

"Demo at Cincinnati 1" --- Sold

It is ironic, but it is true. When the painting business is getting busier, the first thing having to be sacrificed is the painting itself. Last 10 days or so, I was so busy and my regular painting schedule had to be replaced by other things, then I went to Cincinnati, OH and taught a workshop since last Wednesday. I did three demos there. This is the first one.

"Green and Red Balance" --- Sold

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This painting didn't get a good start. I was almost collapsed in the middle of the painting and had to nap for a while. I thought I might not finish it, but it turned out OK. Life needs to be balanced. I am not good at that. I am learning.

"Learning from Hongnian"

Yesterday I was at Magnolia TX again attending a figure painting workshop taught by a great artist Hongnian Zhang. I felt so good of learning again. Hongnian paints gigantic historical paintings, size up to 72” x 120”. I was shocked to know that I had seen his huge paintings about 30 years ago. The tremendous power of his art inspired me when I was a teenager. I am so honored to meet him in person. His approach is very different from mine, but I really enjoyed his ways managing color. I need some time to digest what I have learned and I will use some of his techniques in my future paintings.

"Now and Then"

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I got more demands from galleries now, so I paint more larger paintings when i have more control on time, like weekends. Larger canvases offer more potential to compose richer art content. It is overwhelming at the beginning, but i feel more and more comfortable after practice.

"Portrait Study 1"

This is my second try of painting human this year. When I did the "little girl in red" I was struggling with colors for the skin tone. I worked on this matter more this time. This portrait is done by copying one of Zhaoming Wu's paintings. His is the master of painting figures and portraits. If you are not familiar with his work, please check his art on the Internet. I really want to learn his ways of painting. Copying masters' work is a great way to study.

"Hacked Ikebana" --- Sold

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Ikebana is the Japanese way of flower arrangement. It is very disciplined and sophisticated. My wife is pretty good at that. Hacking (not about breaking into computers) is the quick-n-dirty way of doing things emphasizing only on functioning and practicality. I am pretty good at that. Modern life makes us more and more become hackers, but I am long for the opposite.

"Vase from China" --- Sold

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I got a new gallery representation last week by InSight Gallery at Fredericksburg, TX. This is a very new gallery, but it will show wonderful paintings from great artists I admire: Scott Burdick, Dan Gerhartz, Carolyn Anderson, John Austin Hanna, C. W. Mundy, and Joan Potter, to name a few. I am very happy and honored to be in. I did this 16x20 last weekend and it will be sent to this gallery.

"Mutual Support" --- Sold

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It took me a while to balance these two pears to get the setup I would like to have. This makes me to realize how important we are relying on each other to survive in the world. Cooperation rather than competition, this world is made for you and me.

"Joy" --- Sold

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This rose painting took me a long time to do. I had to wipe out and repaint several times to get what I wanted. It is very easy to overwork when painting roses, and every brush stroke must be accurate and precise. It was so much fun, but it could be very stressful if it didn't work.

"Extraordinarily Ordinary"

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I think the job of a still life artist is to discover the beauty from the everyday stuff and share it to the world. I think I did my job today. When the light bounces back and forth on that bowl with blue patterns and then transmitted through the cantaloupe slide, I saw the combining effect is extraordinarily beautiful. The tranquil blue turns into a vibrant orange glow. Wow, I am speechless. Now I want share what I saw with you.

"A Little Girl in Red"

When I started painting about ten years ago. Figures and portraits used to be my favorite subject. However, due to the practicality of my working and living style, still life has been a suitable replacement. Now, having painting still life for many years, painting humans starts once more ticking my mind. Last night, I was browsing the photos I took when I was camping about two weeks ago. An image of a little girl fishing by the lake triggered my human painting mode. Well, after I started this one, I realized how remotely I am in managing the human form and color. There are a lot of issues in this painting waiting for me to tackle in the future, but at least it get me started on this relative new territory. I am not going to put this painting on eBay, but if you like to have it, please email me an offer, and I will send it to the highest bidder in seven days.

"Strawberry"

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You probably have noticed that I had quite a few paintings lately with complete dark background. I think it will enhance the foreground and make the still life more standing out. I haven't changed my background design often and I love the diagonal casting shadows I use. But always painting the same way is boring. So I am testing and see if there is an alternative background design offering the effects I like.

"Pot from Mexico"

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Having painted so many small paintings, I feel the need to paint some really larger ones. This a couple of days I got enough guts and painted this 20" x 24". I used this conservative composition so I could concentrate on the paint work. It is not as hard as I thought, but the effect is stunning to me. I am happy that the painterly effect still remains.

"Demo at Magnolia 2" --- Sold

My workshop at Magnolia was a big success. I want thank all the attendees. At this workshop I involved an art business session officially. I was amazed so many people are interested in blogging and online marketing. The discussion was so active.

Now the workshop is over. I am going to go camping for a several days. I might not able access to the Internet for a while.

This is my second demo I did at the workshop. Hope you enjoy another my rose painting.

"Demo at Magnolia 1" --- Sold

This is my first demo painting at my Magnolia TX workshop. I am so excited to come back here again. I want express my sincere gratitude to Ms. Marty Hatcher for organizing this wonder workshop. I met many new friends and am having a wonderful time. This workshop is very special to me and to my current and future students, because it will be documented and promoted by American Artist Magazine. You will be able to read about this workshop and my style of teaching on the April's issue of the "Workshop" Magazine. It is a significant milestone in my art career. I am very very happy about it.

"What to Cook?" --- Sold

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The time is gone like a flash, but I have not decided what to paint. One of those days happens more often and becomes one of these days. If you have been painting for a while, you know what I am talking about. Sorry today, I don't sound very inspiring to you.

With this painting I am experimenting using dominant red background, which I don't do very often. It was difficult, but I did make it. I am also testing a new canvas I haven't used before. Several hours later I will be on my way to Magnolia TX. I will teach a workshop there. I will keep you posted. Got to run. See ya. Oh! You take it easy. Don't be rush like me.

"A Red Bottle" --- Sold

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The optical effects of a glass always amaze me. I work as an optical engineer as my day-time job and deal with all kinds of glass media. From vision correction to transmitting data, it is so remarkable that a piece of transparent substance can do when light has been manipulated. Some people think that physics and art are so far apart. However to me it is the opposite. I am work with optical effects in both fields.

"Texas Bloom" --- Sold

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The blue bonnets in my yard are blooming now. I took a photo from the above and it shows an amazing symmetry. So here is my painting. Does it convince you it is a blue bonnet? If you do not have the blue bonnets at your part of world, I hope this painting can give you a feeling of how beautiful Texas is.

"On an Old Book" ---Sold

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The book is very old. The apple is very new. The book was used to be as new as the apple. The apple will be as old as the book very soon. Wow! that is some deep stuff.

"Apache Shores"

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It was about 85 degrees F today in Austin. I decided taking the morning off and went to paint landscape with a group plein air painters. I am so glad I did. We were at a place called Apache Shores. It was so beautiful. It was cloudy. I really like the odd shape trees there.

BTW, I was lucky to get in the OPA National Show again.

"Demo at Salado 2" --- Sold

This is my second demo at Salado. I am demonstrating art blogging and marketing in front of my students. Everybody is having a great time.

"Demo at Salado 1" --- Sold

This is my first demo I did at the workshop. I am having a wonderful time here: making new friends, enjoy the great weather, and the beauty of this very artsy town. I feel everything slows down here in contrast with my life in Austin. I love it.

"Color Dances" --- Sold

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Hello from Salado Texas. I have just arrived at this beautiful small town. I will teach a workshop here for the next 3 days, and I will share my demo paintings will you. I have not got a chance to paint until yesterday. I did this one last night. You know apple is one of my favorite objects. I had a great fun playing colors on this small canvas. I hope you like it too.

"Forever Valentine" --- Sold

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The Valentines Day has just passed. The red roses are still blooming on the table. I painted this 9"x 12" to capture this loving moment. I hope you and your valentine have had a wonderful time. May the spirit of the Valentines Day with you forever.

"Brass on Red" --- Sold

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This one I was concentrated on the skills of depicting a metallic surface. The reflections on the small brass thingy were so rich. The perspective needed to be accurate for sure. I spent quite a time on it. It was a very different approach than that I used painting flowers. It was fun but tiresome.

"Queue of Grapes" --- Sold

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This one is very similar to my "Green and Purple" painting. But I was playing with the composition this time, and trying to create a viewing path with grapes. Grapes are wonderful balance adjusters in a still life painting. They are humble, shying away from being the center, but their subtle beauty always shines. They like to help each other to create a harmonious group effect, instead of being conquerors and overpowering the neighbors.

"Tulips" --- Sold

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I have tried something new last night. This is my first tulip painting. They are relatively easier to paint than other flowers I did, but I had some hard time to get a composition I like. I haven't figured out the way I feel really excited to paint tulips yet, since I don't know the flower well enough. If you know somebody painted great tulips, would you tell me?

Workshop Reminder

I will teach a 3-day still life painting workshop on February 21 - 23 at Andreeva Portrait Academy at Salado, TX. So far we still have a few openings. Please contact Mr. Chris Coggin at chris@andreevagallery.com to sign up or get detailed information. Sorry about the short notice.