It Takes Two to Tango - Day Twenty-Nine of the 30/30 Challenge

It Takes Two to Tango, 

Watercolor on Arches #140 Cold Press Paper, 11"h x 7"w, 2015 #31

Master Study, Not for Sale

Day Twenty-Nine of the challenge -- never thought I would make the whole challenge again! Yay! It is almost the end!!! This painting is a study of master watercolor artist Jan Kunz, whose work I have admired since I took up watercolor a few years ago. The clean, colorful washes that radiates with light just grabs my heart the first time I saw one of her books. Since I haven't painted many still life setups, I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to experiment with different texture -- glass, silver, wood, etc., before to attempt assembly a grand still life and paint it. So this is my practice for capturing the texture of clear, thick glass. It combines something that I am familiar with and feel comfortable painting -- rose, with something I am feeling a little bit timid about -- glass. I had a lot of fun doing it, and painted it over a few days of this month, whenever the day's painting did not take up too much time and leaves a few hours to spend on other projects. I have discovered that painting glass is not unlike assembling a big piece of puzzle -- I have lost numerous times over the different patterns of reflection and refraction painting the ball jar, and it is just one simple little jar! Clearly I needed more practice on this subject, but it was so much fun. The next step is to assemble a still life of my own similar to this setup and see if I could carried out what I have learned doing this master study into my own painting. Can't wait to do that!

Some New Directions -- Divergence from Florals!

Low Tide - Plein Air at Muir Beach, 

Watercolor on Richeson Zoltan Szabo #140 Cold Press Paper, 7"h x 11"w, WIP 1

I've taken a sabbatical from my floral watercolors lately to explore other directions, and I thought maybe I should be sharing some of them with you here. I was a bit hesitant since I have no idea how they would turn out -- it's both scary and exhilarating to explore new territories! Oh well, you, my blog friends have been very kind and supportive to me throughout, so maybe my worries are unfounded! Here they are:

The first one is another little plein air watercolor I did recently at Muir Beach. It's painted on Richeson Zoltan Szabo #140 Cold Press paper and the size is 7"h x 11"w. The sky was over cast that day, therefore all the colors are more saturated without being bleached by the all powerful sun, and I really wanted to accentuate this in my painting. I liked the result in the field and thought it was finished. However, after going back home and giving it a second look, I noticed that the center of interest - the dark rock - is almost smacked dead in the center of the painting -- a compositional NO-NO. I also think the dark shapes of the wet sand can be improved a little more as well... So, back to the drawing board it goes! I will post the modified version in a couple of days...

In Between, Watercolor on Lanaquarelle #140 Cold Press Paper, 15"h x 11"w, WIP 1

The second project is a found still life. Now, if you have followed my blog for a while, you probably have noticed that my florals are often very high in chroma, and seeing flowers in sunlight often make me feel inspired to work, but light is the first painter that reveals beauty in a lot of commonplace objects, even neglected corners. I found this dried leaflet and branch perched in between pebbles on the roadside while taking a walk in the neighbourhood a couple of years back -- and when the sunlight was cast upon it, the pattern of light and shadow is absolutely beautiful. When I pulled the photo out of a dusted drawer during spring cleaning (yes, even I occasionally do this!...) it inspired me to try a subject that is unfamiliar to me. The reference image is low in color saturation so it will be interesting to try different approaches -- increase the chroma or emphasize the value difference in low saturation -- and see which one I like best! (I am even thinking of starting a new series of still life paintings with the theme "Everyday Beauty". If you have reference photos of objects that often do not catch the eye of most people, but you find very beautiful and inspiring, please share with me by posting it here or email me at arena.shawn@gmail.com!)

The Gossiping Ladies, Watercolor on Arches #140 Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 9"w, WIP 1

The last one of my newest projects is really a step out of my comfort zone and something I've rarely tackled before: animals. This image of two parrots perched on mossy branch in bright tropical sunlight has caught my eyes a while ago and I've finally decided to tackle it after gathering my courage for a while. I love the bright plumage colors of these birds, and their expression really reminded me of some of my relatives gossiping about family matters while resting in the traditional front yard after a day's work -- a scene so common back in the days when the large, extended family still lived together in the countryside, but more and more rare these days with the younger generation moving away into towns and cities and forming their own nuclear family... My main focus of this painting is trying to depict the texture of the fur and feather without painting them one by one, as well as capture the individual personality of these cute little critters! I am a bit nervous about how they would turn out. Please feel free to give some critiques and suggestions!

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:

Simple Grace -- My Other Half of Artist's Life at the Classical Atelier

Simple Grace, 
Charcoal Cast Drawing from Life on Fabriano Roma White Charcoal Paper, 18h x 16"w

I haven't done much of sharing of my work from the atelier I was attending so far -- this is one of the latest projects I have finished there. It is a charcoal drawing about the size of 16" x 18" of a plaster cast from a 19th century French girl. The drawing is done from life with sight-size method, and took me a good three month to finish. I was quite happy with it and thought it has somewhat captured her calm, gentle expression, and the effect of light hitting her forehead and cascading down from there. The training at Golden Gate Atelier is amazing and I felt in the two years I am attending it, my drawing ability has just improved by leaps and bounds...

It is very interesting that this cast is supposed to be a cast direct from a real girl's face, after she has tragically cast herself into the river water of Paris to end her life, but the expression is so vivid, peaceful and lifelike, it's hard to believe it is cast from a deceased person... The interesting story behind the cast is that the contemporary CPR's training mask is designed according to it, so that people who are trained to do mouth-to-mouth CPR could have something pleasant to stare at when doing it...

After completing this project, I decide to submit it to Lodi Art Center's Spring Juried Show, and yesterday I was informed that this drawing has just won the Best of Show. This great news came as a total surprise, as this is the first time I submit non-watercolor work to a juried show and I was very nervous how it would be received... Of course I feel a huge sense of encouragement now. 

I would never be able to do this without the two years of priceless training I have received at Golden Gate Atelier -- before entering the atelier I was literally scared to death to pick up a pencil and draw free-hand! The rigorous training -- drawing from life 6-7 hours a day every day has not only taught me how to see and how to use different drawing materials to achieve an effect I want, but gradually built up my confidence to DRAW. Again, this proves you learn drawing by -- actually draw a lot... Along the way I have received so many valuable instructions and help from my teachers, Andrew Ameral and Sean Forester, as well as my classmates. I owe you all a big "Thanks" -- you are the best!


I also owe a big "Thank You" to Sadie Valeri, my first teacher in classical realism and personal inspiration! I took my first life drawing class with her when I was still working my engineer job, and was totally hooked! Now I am on this road of no return... Lol...

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:

A Still Life Study, A Small Landscape, I Am Hanging on There...

It Takes Two to Tango,  
Watercolor on Saunders Waterford #140 Cold Press Paper, 7"h x 10"w, WIP 2

With a dear family member falling ill of cardiac issues and later myself getting sick with flu when in hospital taking care of him (thank you all who have sent me kind words and prayers!), I guess I have fallen off the bandwagon of "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge this time. I have decided not to beat myself up for it, and just try again next time in September when Leslie is hosting this challenge again. In the mean time, I found out that floral/still life painting actually suited the fragmented schedule I have in between hospital visits and bed rests better than landscapes, so to get back into the groove and also actually learn how to paint glass, I have resumed this study from master artist Jan Kunz's tutorial. Unlike most of my floral work, the two roses here are mostly done wet on dry, so that I could practice softening edges with a damp brush, while in the mean time try to make good shapes with each brush stroke. It's amazing how time consuming all the small shapes of the flower petals and especially on the ball jar are -- I have an increasing appreciation of the amazing work you do, Carrie!

Frosty Morning,  Watercolor on Arches #140 Cold Press Paper, 7"h x 10"w, WIP 1

When I actually have some chunks of time at hand, I worked on several more small landscapes. Most of them still have not taken shape yet, so I've only included one here. It started as a "Sky" painting in the challenge, and from that palette of Cobalt Blue, Turquoise and purple grey mixed with transparent primary colors, I decide to portray early snow in the mountain highlands, with lake water in the foreground, and some small shrubs still exhibiting fall colors reflecting in it. The focus here is to try to evoke the feeling of chilly late autumn morning air in the highlands. We'll see how it goes! :-) 

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:

Season Change (30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge: Day 6)

Season Change, Watercolor on Arches140# Rough Paper, 5"h x 7"w, 2013 #8

Bid at My DPW Auction (Starting Bid $20)

In this deceptively simple-looking subject I rediscovered the joy of sculpting into wet watercolor paints with a damp brush and pull out the bursting white seed pod shape out of the background, and painting negatively around a light shape. Simple as it looks, it actually took me several trials to land in one that I am relatively happy with. The difficulty lies in leaving enough room in between each brush stroke so that when the wet paint travel and expand on paper, there are still enough white paper left to suggest the seed pods of the bulrush plants. Of course, you can always carve out the lights when the paper is drying, but to achieve the really beautiful diffused edge that suggest the fluffiness of the pods, it is best to leave the soft edge created by the initial movement of fluid paint on very wet paper -- which, of course, is hard to control as wet paint has a mind of their own...

This is one of the trial runs that's on Jack Richeson Stephen Quiller #140 rough paper -- I found the texture effects of granulating paints are not as evident on this paper compared to Arches, and removal of even non-staining paints are somewhat more difficult. (I will report back after more experiments...) However, I did like the interesting shapes on the bulrush seed head formed by uneven drying of paints -- getting this kind of "happy accidents" are one of the major draws of watercolor...

Season Change (Version 2), 

Watercolor on Richeson Stephen Quiller140# Rough Paper, 5"h x 7"w, 2013 #9

You can purchase my 2013 wall and desk calendars here:

Work in Progress: Greetings of May, and more Sanchez 50-50

Ok, ok, I admit -- after painting a grouping of 6" x 6" sizes I did feel a little constrained in terms of composition, and took a break from them by working on this piece I started in May. I worked multiple layers of very wet washes of mingled colors in the attempt to created the airy, light-filled space behind the flower, which reminded me of the feeling of early summer when I took this reference photo. I love the effects I have obtained so far -- the soft-focused ring effects and the delicious granulation of pigments, but the painting surface overall is looking a little too busy right now, so I think I will darken some area and lose some of the "light rings" to provide resting area for the eye, and emphasize the light-colored flower a bit more. The Lanaquarelle Cold Press paper I am working on is very lovely -- easy enough to lift but still allows glazing provided a light touch is used. I will be very careful not to saturate the surface of the paper before the designed value range is reached...

Greetings of May, Watercolor on Lanaquarelle 140# Cold Press Paper, 11"h x 7"w, WIP 2

But, I did not slack off on the 50-50 project! I worked on this group of green(! yes, it is the actual color of the flower...) orchids. Contrary to the Blue Delphiniums, the subject of this painting -- the group of several orchid flowers -- is itself complicated enough, so instead of trying to add more soft-focused foliage in the background and make it way too busy, I opted for a soft, smoothly gradated background, mostly dark to contrast with the light flowers, hoping it would provide a "quiet area" for the viewer's eyes to breathe. Unfortunately, this is not an easy task, give I don't want to use masking and the background shapes around the flowers are complicated with interlocking edges. I also had to glaze multiple times to obtain the smooth gradation, leaving some lighter yellow-green areas to hint more flowers in the background space. I still have lots of work to to on the flowers in the foreground -- it's going to be a long night again... :-P

Green Orchids, Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press Paper, 6"h x 6"w, WIP 1

... And, I am really really excited that I finally finished the preliminary work required to open my Etsy Shop! All that shipping policy, story of the shop, greeting message -- everything takes careful drafting and a whole lot of typing! But it's finally there, and I've uploaded the first item, optimized the title and tags for it to be easily reached via the all mighty search engines! (A lot of reading of FAQs and Forum Postings on Etsy, and thanks to the great introduction by the wonderful Crystal Cook -- you really rock!) I know it takes time to build a potential clientele, so I will be patient. But this is a new chapter for me and I am really excited...

Work in Progress: Petal Light #2, Beauty Queen, & Starting of a New Rose Painting (What?! Another One?!...)

Following the advice given by Kara, I'm putting aside "Petal Light #1" and worked some more on "Petal Light #2", starting to add complementary color -- blues and purples on the stamen. 

Petal Light #2, Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press Paper, 8"h x 10"w, WIP 2

I also added some more localized washes on the background of "Beauty Queen", starting to break up the leaf shapes a bit more. It's still very soft and unfocused at this stage, and the colors are light. I will add one more wash to define the shadow shapes on the leaves, then starting to develop the flower.

Beauty Queen, Watercolor on Arches 140# Cold Press Paper, 7"h x 5"w, WIP 3

And... Mad as it is, I just started another rose painting! I was so inspired by the glass paintings of Carrie Waller, that I decide to do a still life with cut crystal glass in it... The small facets on the crystal create numerous small shapes, which is quite daunting to me, but I think it will be fun to try to get that sense of light and transparency of it! The background is quite soft and out of focus, ideal for practicing what I have learned in the amazing Jeannie Vodden's class. I can't wait to work some more on it...

Greetings of May, Watercolor on Lanaquarelle 140# Cold Press Paper, 11"h x 7"w, WIP 1

Oil Painting Class: Orange and Peppers

In February I've started a scary but exciting new journey -- I've taken up an oil painting class with the amazing artist David Cheifetz in Palo Alto. The beautiful thinly painted shadows, intriguing compositions and juicy, glowing colors together with the confidently executed brushwork in his painting lured me into this class -- before which I was seriously intimidated by the thought of taking up oil painting. But, after learning that he only started painting in oil in 2007 (!!!), I decided I have to study with him and steal the secrets... (;-P)

David was trained in the Schuler Atelier School in the classical lineage. His work was built on top of a solid foundation of brush drawing, but differs from (what I understand) classical still life in their confident brushwork (a lot classical oil paintings emphasize the rigorous blending of any brushwork) and dramatic lighting. He is also an equally great teacher -- I've only taken three classes with him so far, but I've learned a ton:

• A painting starts with straight-line block-in of main object shape, cast shadow and form shadow shape, which are sketched in before the painting part starts with Burnt Umber mixed with Gamblin Gamsol, normally on an umber-toned ground. David usually use Burnt Umber for his still life paintings, and Raw Umber for his figure paintings, since the cold greenish tinge of Raw Umber sets off the warm skin tones of the figure beautifully;

• After straight-line block-in of the shadow shapes, the entire shadow side (including the form shadows and cast shadows) are blocked in with flat Burnt Umber mixed with a little Gamsol, very thinly but dark enough to differentiate from the light side;

• The actual painting starts from areas around highlights -- where the color is the riches and most saturated. After that, highlights are immediately put in thickly -- now you have both the light, mid-tone and shadow values in an object. In this step, David would mix the color pigments with his favorite medium, Gamblin Neo-Meglip Gel Medium to allow more fluid brushstrokes;

• Slowly block in the various color-values in the light side of the object, studying each section carefully before putting brush to canvas/board, painting attention to both the value and the color of the brush work. David does not pre-mix, instead, he mix each brushstroke of color on the go using his filbert brush. Each color patch is carefully mixed, laid-in, then manipulated on canvas to create the corresponding edge effects: hard, soft, diffused...

• Only when the entire light side of the object is done would David move t the boundary between light and shadow, and lay a dark color swatch parallel to the edge of the shadow, partly in the light section and partly in shadow to connect the two. Then he would check the value steps between the most saturated color section and the edge of shadow, making sure the value transition is consistent with what's showing in the object you are painting;

• David emphasizes that making what he calls "Starts" to be the most important of this training process -- the detailed steps of which is described above, and ask his students to do one "Start" of each three-hour painting session. This is very critical to getting the most out of the training time, according to his opinion. He also ask us to pay close attention to the quality and accuracy of the block-in lines, the way brushstrokes are laid when painting, and the value of each stroke put on canvas/board (value is more important than color!). He is kind but strict, and does tons of hands-on demonstrations on our canvas to illustrate each point he emphasizes...

• At the end of each three-hour session, he suggests us to wipe-off any unfinished painting after taking a photo as a record of what we have done. This way would ensure we are not so attached to the painting itself and try to fiddle and finish it at home. "The next painting would always be better than the last one!" This is absolutely right -- I am reminded each time that the purpose of me coming to these classes is not to finish a painting and having something to show around, but to practice and exercise under the guidance of a master painting, and get the most out of it!

So, what have I produced so far? Not much -- I did one single-colored object for each of the three-hour sessions, first an orange, then a red chili pepper, finally a yellow bell pepper to explore how to paint shadows on yellow objects -- since yellow has such a short value range (as you can see, I am still obsesses with my yellow rose experiment... :-P).

The orange is my first attempt and a bit of a disaster -- I have no experience in oil painting, and the support I was using -- Ampersand Gesso Board is very slick. As a result, I have very thick paints on the board, and my brush is slipping around with no control of brushwork whatsoever. The highlight is painted as a single round dot -- no edge quality or shape accuracy. But, everything has to start somewhere!

Oil Painting Session 02/01/2012, on Ampersand Gesso Board

I got slightly better on the red chili pepper -- this is my second brush drawing and I wiped the whole drawing at least three times in frustration, but I did learn to control my brushes a little better, and finally learned the right quantity of pigment and Gamsol in the brush to make a thin, deliberate line. David showed me how to manipulate paint to create fussy edges of the intricate highlight shape, and I tried it on my own -- not too successfully, but definitely improving compared to my last attempt...

Oil Painting Session 02/06/2012, on Ampersand Gesso Board

The third time, I experimented with a different ground -- RayMar Fine Weave Linen Canvas Board, on which color is absorbed much more than the Gesso Board. They have a good grip on the brush which I like, but the color definitely is less brilliant compared to the Gesso Board. I also experimented with less pigment on the brush to avoid pigment pile-up on canvas. On some sections of this painting, the pigments seem to be spread too thin -- I am still struggling to find the right amount. But, I feel that my brush-handling has definitely improved. I am squinting more to look at the big value changes. And my initial block-in lines got much better! This "Starts" are really great exercises indeed...

Oil Painting Session 02/08/2012, on RayMar Fine Weave Linen Canvas Board

At the end of each session I wiped the painting straight up -- after taking these photo evidences. I will keep on trying -- maybe one day, there would be something worth keeping. But until then, I am going to be satisfied of being able to take the lessons learned and skills improved back home with me...