We took a one-hour boat ride from Lido Island, where we stayed in Venice, to the picturesque Burano Island. Every one of the buildings and houses on this island are painted in the cheerful bright colors. This is an island of fairy-tale. It has canals crossing through streets and beautiful water ways reflecting the colorful buildings. This little fishing village has certainly made a mark in my traveler's journal.
After staying in Taos, New Mexico for a 6-day painting trip we were heading home to Texas. On the way from Taos to Santa Fe we stopped by this beautiful stream flowing down from the Taos Mountain. It was a bright sunny morning. The lights were shinning beatifully on these cottonwood trees.
I painted this yellow rose for my lovely niece, Jinyi. She came to Texas from China when she was 5 years old without knowing much English. Throughout the years she has become an outstanding achiever in academy and music. She was a drum major for the marching band in her high school and also graduated with a high honor of salutatorian. She headed west for her college, graduated from USC in California and returned to Texas in 2008 to continue her study in Bayler Medical School. She is an intelligent lady and a hard worker. I know she will be a great doctor. I gave her this rose to welcome her back home in Texas.
Every winter many people migrate from north to south Texas to spend time in the mild climate. They form a nice friendship and visit the New Braunfels Art Gallery often. People in Texas called them "Snow Birds". Here is a painting for them.
The Denali National Park offers the most beautiful autumn colors in September. The hills were covered by the bright red fireweeds with a backdrop of blue/purple mountain and the green spruces in between. You get the picture. We were so lucky to have a nice weather when we arrived in Denali National Park after a 4-hour train ride from Anchorage. Visiting Alaska opened up my eyes and heart to the nature. Alaska has the most fabulous and beautiful landscape with mountain, rivers, trees, glacier, and wild animals. We experienced the fear of possible encounter with bears and wild animals while walking in the trail. Yes this land is their land too.
Tai Lake is the second largest fresh water lake in China. It is about 2 hours driving from Shanghai. This bridge is called "Long Live Bridge" meaning you live young and healthy forever. We sure hope so. Other than fishing and transportation, the Tai Lake is also a place to raise fresh water pearls. I bought a nice pearl ring from one of the show rooms by Tai Lake.
We were on a boat cruising down the famous Lijiang River in Guilin, China. Guilin is rated one of the most picturesque sites in the world. Lijiang River winds along thousands of picks that have very interesting and unique formations. Cruising down the Lijiang River and seeing the beautiful hills passing by us it gave us a feeling out of this world. It brought me a great deal of serenity and an extreme feeling of "zen" quality. Lijiang River provides daily lives for many people live close by. You would always see fishermen sailing on a bamboo raft using a bamboo stick to move on the river. The sunset on the river presents an amazing picture.
The dark sky and moving clouds are over the beautiful New Mexico landscape. The storm is approaching. We need to find a shelter to wait for the rain passing by. 
When we have good rain in the winter and early spring in Texas, you will see the most beautiful landscape that is covered by blue bonnets in the hill country. This painting of a blue bonnet field is a view in the City Loop by Fredericksburg. City Loop is a famous driving trail for people to enjoy the most scenic pictures of blue bonnets. There are some web sites particularly reporting the blooming status of blue bonnets every year.
In my birthday party a dear friend of mine, Joyce, gave me 5 dozens of red roses. They were so beautiful and were overflowed from the vase. I set some of them up for various compositions for my still live paintings. Here is one rose placed on my son's guitar. What a lovely subject to paint. Does it give you a romantic feeling?
