Love Birds - 30/30 Challenge 2016

Love Birds,

 Watercolor on Arches #140 Cold Press Paper, 8"h x 8"w, 2016 #11

Bid in My DPW Auction (Starting Bid $65)

Sentinel - 30/30 Challenge 2016

Sentinel,

 Watercolor on Richeson Szabo #140 Cold Press Paper, 7"h x 11"w, 2016 #9

Bid in My DPW Auction (Starting Bid $100)

100% of the sale of this painting would be donated to the cause of trisomy in ​honor of the lost child of my amazing artist friend and fellow painter, Brienne Brown. She is so brave and kind and strong in sharing her struggle and contribute to the cause!

I have wanted to do this for a while but some personal circumstances have delayed it. I wanted to paint a painting with the symbol of life, revival, resilience embedded in it, in honor of the life that is lost too young yet would never be forgotten by her loved ones. It is not a lot but I want to contribute my little bit. Every little bit helps in the fight against this formidable rare disease, which has not gotten the attention it deserves in the medical and pharmaceutical society, probably because it is rare and not a lot of profit there is to be made. Imagine the impact a cure would have on the families with a loved ones diagnosed... I can't help but hope that day would come sooner...

Green Bells of Ireland -- Continue with the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge...

Green Bells of Ireland, 

Watercolor on Arches #140 Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 6"w, 2014 #17

Sold!

With my third butterfly painting for Leslie Saeta's "30 Paintings in 30 Days" Challenge for this September still in the works, I thought I'd share with you one of my previous paintings that I have completed for this challenge. I did it while still in China, therefore haven't got a chance to share it here with you yet, although I have uploaded the image onto my Daily Paintworks Gallery Page. I have started this painting actually in 2012, and at that time my main goal is to explore different variation of greens -- mixed from yellow, blue and brown, or modified from different tube greens. I was a little intimidated by this color, as it is not easy to make it look natural with readily-available tube colors, yet it is so essential to flower (and all nature-related) paintings. I have worked on it on and off many times, and certainly have learned a great deal while working on it! The most interesting fact I have discovered is that you can add a lot of different hue -- blues, yellows, and even reds and brows -- to your painting in different locations at small portions and still have the entire image read as "green", as long as the colors adjacent to green on the color wheel dominate the pictorial space, and colors complimentary to green only occupy small areas -- and these sparsely placed jewels actually decrease the monotony of the whole painting, really making the color "sing".

Paintings in an almost-monochromatic scheme like this one is not easy, as it is relatively hard to place emphasis on the center of interest item without the help of a hint of the complimentary color of the large color field it is placed in. I have to rely on mostly cautiously placed details as well as the contrast of soft and hard edges to reach my goal, and direct the viewers' eyes toward the flower bells in the foreground. I have exaggerated the softness of the background from the reference photo to make the center flowers stand out, and add more atmosphere and movement to the entire image.

In the mean time, if you have an image of a beautiful landscape, or a flower you like, or anything you might want to see painted, please email them to me at arena.shawn@gmail.com. I will paint them and post them here. From every 10 paintings I make from them, there would be a random drawing, and the lucky winner get to take a original back home for free! Interested? Then send me your photo!

You can now buy high quality Giclee prints of many of my sold paintings, both on paper and canvas, as well as some note cards with my paintings here:

Zen... Imprinted -- 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge (Round Two), Day 25 (Something A Little Different...)

Zen Imprinted I, 

Hand-Carved Stamp with Ink on Nujabi Handmade Watercolor Paper, 6"h x 8"w, 2013 #75

Bid at My DPW Auction (Starting Bid $20) 

Today I had a really great night with some etsy friends -- I carved my first set of stamps and got a little crazy with line and shapes. It was so much fun -- the printed image almost never come out exactly as the drawn design on the stamp, but the unpredictability makes the process just all the more intriguing. I have some handmade Japanese paper and I think I will give those a try next time... For now, I think these little cropped designs would look great in a double mat, as they are really decorative! :-)

Zen Imprinted II, 

Hand-Carved Stamp with Ink on Nujabi Handmade Watercolor Paper, 6"h x 8"w, 2013 #76

Bid at My DPW Auction (Starting Bid $20) 

Today I also received very good advice from my artist Friend Kim Stenberg and decide to do this -- if you have an image of a beautiful landscape, or a flower you like, or anything you might want to see painted, please email them to me at arena.shawn@gmail.com. I will paint them and post them here. From every 10 paintings I make from them, there would be a random drawing, and the lucky winner get to take a original back home for free! Interested? Then send me your photo!

You can now buy high quality Giclee prints of many of my sold paintings, both on paper and canvas, as well as some note cards with my paintings here: