I have not been proactively updating my blog or do any paintings for a few months because of the busy summer schedule. Now my son Daniel has moved to Seattle so it's time for me to catch up my art work now..... Well the news is - with the encouragement from my artist friend Qiang Huang, I am now enrolled in the AAU's MFA program and I am taking the figure drawing class once a week. Going back to school is quite exciting. I like the structured approach and intensive pace set by the school, and I am working very hard to hone my drawing skills. I will post some of my finished work later.

Distant field

There were several thoughts going through my mind when I painted this painting. Should I focus on painting the space, what is my focal point, how about the colors, etc. In the end, I chose to focus on creating the ample space from the viewers in this painting - layers of greens, distance away. This was an unique thought process and I enjoyed it very much.

CAC "Summer Escapes" Exhibition

My Painting "French Quarter" is currently exhibited at the "Summer Escapes" exhibition organized by California Art Club. This is a fantastic exhibition at the Altadena Town and Country Club in southern California, from May 18 to September 11. I am very excited to be juried into this show. If you happen to travel to LA this summer, please stop by Altadena and view the show.

The Lady of the Camellias - 2

Here is the drawing from the same cast - the Lady of Camelias, but from different angle. I really enjoyed cast drawing, it's like playing treasure hunt, hunting for details with patience. It is really addictive to do cast drawing :)

The Lady of the Camellias

Recently I have been doing a lot of drawings. Like all the master artists said - drawing skill is the foundation of everything in art. I've learned so much from going back to draw - the size, the proportions, the angles, the perspectives, all rendered by a pencil on paper. It is the training to observe things with patience. I feel more comfortable to draw now than a few months ago and I will continue drawing until who knows when.................. Here I am sharing with you one of my cast drawings - The Lady of the Camellias. I enjoy drawing her very much, and hope you like it too.

Late Afternoon Light

I tried not to use the umber colors, instead I used blue and green directly for the dark. I hope this approach has resulted a cleaner painting.

Barns

I was trying to capture the atmosphere of the warm morning sun in this painting, and restrained the use of the umber color series for the dark.