Friday, September 24, 2010

American Impressionist Society Show

I was juried into the American Impressionist Society 11th National Exhibition this year. The show will be held at Richland Fine Art in Nashville, Tennessee. It runs from October 7th to November 3rd. Just shipped off my painting today. Excited!

This is the painting:

Old Train Station, 11 x 14 (SOLD)

You can preview the AIS national show online here:
http://www.americanimpressionistsociety.org/2010/RFA_catalog/index.html
Many beautiful paintings!

2nd Place! -- HDG painting Competition

It's been a long time but here I am again...

I participated in the 4th annual Havre de Grace plein air painting competition last week and won second place! It was a surprising win and I feel very happy and grateful. Talked to the judge Ken Backhaus. He is such a nice guy and gave me a lot of good advice. Cindy did a great job organizing the event--thank you!

The winning piece:


Havre de Grace morning, 12x16

Other ones:

Pink house, 9x12


At rest, 12x9


Afternoon alley, 16x12

Friday, July 23, 2010

On the easel



I'm working on this big painting (not really that big but...) of 40x30. It's from a photo I took in Hong Kong last year. I'm still trying to figure out how to do larger paintings. And I don't want to make the painting look too realistic. This is where a field study will be so helpful--unfortunately it wasn't possible to do one there then.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Opera Garnier interior (SOLD)



Oil on linen, 24x18

This one took me a week to do--I worked on it a little bit everyday. I decided to paint on my porch for better light and ventilation, but then it was hot.

I took the photo for this painting on the tour in Opera Garnier. I was fascinated by its rich interior, especially this sculpture holding the lights. It just makes you want to sing--I guess that's the point, isn't it?

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Two watercolors


Montmartre street, 10x7


Montmartre music, 10x7

Somehow the most paintable photos are mostly from Montmartre. No wonder painters all flocked to there in the past.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Opera Garnier sculptures


18x24


18x24

These are more like drawings. They are the group sculptures on the facade of the Opera Garnier. I love sculptures, and was so impressed by the French architecture. There is nothing like this in the US! So grand. So rich in details and beauty. Everywhere you look, the Paris streets greet you with visual treats. My camera could hardly stay in my bag.

We tried to get tickets for a show in Garnier that day, but got there too late. The only two tickets left were 200 euros each. Well we didn't want to see the show that bad to pay that much! And really, it was because--we spent too much time across the street in the Galerie Lafayette.


Afternoon snack in Galerie Lafayette. With a cup of coffee, it's a perfect pick-me-up. So delicious.


Cute salt and pepper shakers in the Lafayette Gourmet store.


French girls in front of the Opera Garnier. Love the flower in her hair.

If there is one thing I can complain about Paris, it's--too many smokers! They are everywhere!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Montmartre at sunset


Oil on canvas, 18x24

It's in front of the lovely "La Maison Rose". We had dinner there. Montmartre is overrun by tourists now of course, but turn away from the crowds, and walk downhill a couple blocks, you enter a relatively quiet neighborhood. Sitting on the corner is la Maison Rose, a pink house (restaurant) with outdoor seating. Parisians love to sit outside!

Snails, anyone?

I love snails. Ah, only remembered to snap a shot after they were gone...


Duck confit with pasta. Yummy!


Nice evening. The sun sets so late! Like 10:30 pm!

Everyone who has been to Paris has felt her magic. I cannot begin to describe her beauty. Just trying to capture something on canvas, one by one. I came back only a couple of days ago, and I want to go back there already.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Paris!

I'm leaving for Paris for a week. Will visit the Louvre for the first time! I don't think I'll be able to paint but I'm taking my sketchbook. Don't have a new painting to post but this simple imagined landscape I did a while ago...



Au revoir!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Figure study



One figure study from Robert Liberace's class. This one turned out better. He liked the face the best, and said the handling on the body is a little heavy.

This is very different from how I usually paint. He places more emphasis on drawing, values, and anatomy. Otherwise I will go crazy with colors! But in order to learn one has to forgo her usual way--at least for a while! Plus it's always good to try different approaches.

I enjoyed painting figure after a long period of painting landscapes and still-lifes. I would like to do more.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Mountain Maryland Plein Air

Just came back from Cumberland in Allegany County, Maryland. The second annual Mountain Maryland Plein Air Competition is organized by Allegany Arts Council. I won third place!

These are my works:


Old train station. 11x14. This one won me the prize.


Judy Miller farm. 11x14. I like this farm painting. Only the above two were put in for judging.


Mountain road. 11x14. This is the first painting I did after arriving in Cumberland.


View from Dan's Rock. 12x16.


Looking up Washington St. 16x12.


Train tracks. 16x12.


Cumberland morning. 12x9. Done in Quick Draw.

This competition is a little more relaxing than the last one in Wayne, and the mountain scenes are inspiring (the cloud formations in the mountains are fantastic). Cumberland itself also offers many interesting motifs such as historic buildings, old railroads, churches with steeples perched on a hill, etc. It helps if you have a lot of good subjects to paint! We only needed to paint two and a half days and turn in two best paintings for showing and judging. And the next day, Saturday morning, was a two-hour quick draw.

Now for the inner journalist in me, I have to report the whole event.

Best of Show winner: Stewart White.


First place winner: Tim Bell.


Second place winner: Lisa Egali.


Honorable mentions:

Edward Cooper


Barara Nuss


There are a couple other honorable mentions but I didn't get the names and the photos of the paintings...

Another watercolor of Stewart White I really like:


Another Ed Copper's painting I like:


Also Haiou's paintings:




She sold both paintings. She's getting more and more loose and colorful! Very free. Works on large canvases too.

Lee Boynton was the judge. It was nice to see him. I took his class and joined quite a few paint-out lessons with him and he is such an enthusiastic teacher. He is the founder or one of the founders for so many good things happening in this region like Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association, Plein Air Easton, and Paint Annapolis.

I did not expect to win anything. I was hoping to maybe sell a painting or two. In the end, I didn't sell but won a prize. It always feels good to win but the joy of winning did not last too long this time--mostly because I've seen there are so many good painters out there and know that I have much to learn. This is an exciting journey--the road to artistic excellence, and one that seems endless, which makes it even more intriguing.

More Quick Draw paintings:

First place by Stewart White.


Second place, David Diaz. Sorry I don't have a photo of his painting...

Third place, Linda Kirvan. Way to go, Linda!


Tim Bell's Quick Draw painting.


I like this big train painting. Done by a 22-year-old!


One other thing: I virtually became a red-neck after a one-day painting because I forgot to put sunblock on my neck and the T-shirt I wore that day happened to have a wider opening. I guess the sun is more intense in the mountains due to the elevation. Mental note: Wear sunscreen--everywhere!--and buy umbrellas.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Paintings I like

Robert Coombs:

Just beautiful.


Love the paint surface quality.

Derek Penix:


Frank P. Ordaz


Jeff Larson:




John Poon:






Mitch Baird




Nancy Chaboun