I Love You

 This is one of the paintings that will be exhibited in Asian Festival on Feb 16, 2013.  I did the painting while Weixue Su wrote in the Chinese calligraphy.  I believe someone has an eye on this one wanting to buy it.   

Acrylic, 8x10 

Art for Asian Festival 2013

 As a volunteer work I painted 32 paintings for the arts and crafts booth of Chinese Society of San Antonio.  A friend of mine, Weixue Su wrote in the Chinese calligraphy.  His brush strokes are beautiful.  We hope the "East meets the West" approach will introduce people in San Antonio another level of art enjoyment.  All these authentic original paintings are for sale as a fund raising for the organization.  Here are some samples of these paintings.  The Asian Festival will be held in the Institute of Texan Culture in downtown San Antonio on Saturday, Feb 16, 2013.  This annual event is to celebrate the Chinese New Year and is participated by many Asian organizations.

Acrylic paintings, 6x6, 12x6, 8x10

When Edison meets Edison 那是我嗎？

 Edison was wondering if this painting is him?  Michael asked me to paint a painting of their beloved dog, Edison, as a surprise Christmas present for his wife, Sara.  I certainly enjoyed this project and delivered the painting in late November.  Sara loves the painting so does Edison as he was sitting in front of it and wondering.   Merry Christmas and a blessing New Year to Sara, Michael, and Edison.

Oil on linen canvas board, 16x20, private collection

Stroll Along the River 河邊漫步

 Michael strolled with his dog, Edison, along the Guadalupe River.  This small painting gives you a nice feeling of "me and my dog".   

Oil on canvas, 6x4, private collection

After the Dance 步下舞台時

 She was a dancer in the Renaissance Festival that is held every year in Oct ~ Nov in Magnolia, Texas.  She just completed a beautiful dance and was walking away from the dance floor.  Don't you just love her colorful dress?  The festival was fun and offered lots of entertainment.  We were presently surprised about the delicious food offered in the festival.  We especially loved the baked "apple dumpling" in the Italian food section.  The only thing needs some "TLC" is the traffic to and from the Festival in Magnolia.  It took us 2 hours in and 2 hours out of there on a Sunday visit. 

Oil on canvas board, 12x9 SOLD

Along the Guadalupe River #3 瓜達陸河邊

 Here again I was painting along the Guadalupe River that is located in the hill country near New Braunfels, Texas.  This river is mostly famous for tubing in the summer.  It is a popular tourist destination during the hot weather.  There are many beautiful spots along the river that provide fabulous materials for artists to paint.  We plan to go again in the next couple of weeks when the cypress trees turn into the amazing autumn colors.  I did this painting in Kathryn Stats' workshop recently.  Kathryn gave me high remarks on this painting.  Enjoy the river!

This painting has been selected by New Braunfels Art League & Gallery as the art donation project in 2013.  An image copy of this painting will be given to local charity organizations, per requests, for their charity events.   I am delighted to be able to help out our community outreach program.

Oil on canvas board, 9x12

First Light 清晨陽光

 We were in Estates Park, Colorado to do plein air painting and rent a cute house by Mary's Lake Road.  We had a fabulous view from the big window in the living room.  Here was the view of our front yard while the morning sun was dancing through the trees and the rocks.

Oil on canvas board, 12x16 

Aspen Glow in the backyard 白楊秋色

 The autumn color of aspens is the best season of the year.  I always enjoy its amazing beauty and  love to include them on my canvases.  These aspen trees were in the backyard of a well known artist, Walt Gonske.  We were fortunate to have a plain air painting session in his lovely home and got to visit the artist.

Oil on canvas board, 9x12

Singing the Blues 街邊樂曲

Watch street performers in New York City is a wonderful experience in Big Apple. Here was a saxophone player playing some jazz music. His music has added another dimension in our life.

Oil on canvas, 20x16

River Runs Through 云南 九鄉峽谷

A group of us 11 took an escorted tour to the southwestern part of China in the spring of 2007.  It was a fabulous trip.  We visited the most beautiful part of Yunnan province and the famous fairytale scenery of  Guilin.  Here were the cliffs in Jiuxiang where we took a boat ride to go through these amazingly beautiful cliffs and rush river.  This trip was definitely one of my favorite trips.  It  left with me many memorable places and people.  If you want to enjoy the unpoluted air in China, visit Yunnan.  This painting was done primarily by palette knifes plus a few brush strokes.

Oil on canvas board, 12x16

Dream of Bear Creek 夢中的小河邊

 Here is an oil value study I did on location by the Bear Creek of New Braunfels, Texas.  I love the black and white moody feeling of this painting. 

Oil on canvas board, 8x10

Aloha, Lily 國英女士

 We took a 12-day cruise to visit 4 major islands in Hawaii in the Spring of 2012.  It was a fun fun trip.  There were so much activities on board and off the ship.  Here is Lily who was standing by the beach of the big island Hawaii.  We had a fabulous tour guide for our island excursionon.  He took us to visit the Volcano National Park, the rain forest, an orchid center, and of course the beach.  He bought some fresh fruits for us to enjoy at the beach park.  It was exciting to see about a dozen of big green turtles at the beach.  The trees and plants in Hawaii are so healthy looking in beautiful and lavish greens, yellows, and pink, etc.  It is truly a place you want to visit.  Aloha!
Oil on canvas board, 14x11, private collection

San Antonio Stroll 河邊溜達

It was one early morning we walked along the charming San Antonio River to enjoy the fresh air.  There were not many tourists yet in these early hours.  The Riverwalk presented the peaceful and enjoyable scenes.   I couldn't resist to capture these colorful umbrella in my painting here.

Oil on canvas board, 12x24 SOLD

Two Horses 雙馬迎門

 I painted this one a while back.  The warm autumn light reflecting on these two horses gave a feeling of coming home.   Yes, you may come in.

Oil on canvas board, 11x14

Cross the Bridge 承德 避暑山莊

 Last year we visited the Royal Summer Resort in Chengde of China that is about 3-hour bus ride north from Beijing.  This beautiful and spacious resort was used by the royal family in the Qing Dynasty during 1500~1900 AD in China.  Now this place is open for public.  It has rivers, lakes, bridges, hot springs, gardens, meadows, and many historical buildings.  This place is an ideal destination for artists who can yield many paintings with all subject matters.   Here is a view from the hot spring.  Don't you just want to cross the bridge to check out the pretty flowers on the other side of the water?

Oil on canvas, 20x24

Catch the Wave 戲水

 I've painted this little girl who was playing at the Catalina beach a while back.  I painted her again this time in a different composition plus 2 sea birds.   

Oil on canvas board, 12x9

White Shawl 白披肩

 Jean modeled again for us on the third day of our workshop with Fongwei Liu.  Here I did a figure of her and hoped to capture the elegance of this beautiful lady. 

Oil on canvas board, 16x12

Jonathan 年青人

 On the second day of our workshop with Fongwei Liu the supposed to be model did not show up, the workshop organizer, Qiang Huang, ask his son Jonathan as the sub.  Jonathan is an energitic 15-year-old young fellow.  He sat well for us, but the sitting-still was too challenging for this teenager.  Anyway I did this figure and hoped to capture his youth spirit. 

Oil on canvas board, 16x12

Jean 珍女士

 I took an oil workshop from an accomplished artist, Fongwei Liu this month.  The focus of this workshop is on people - portrait and figures.  Jean was one of the models in our first day.  Here is my first live painting of Jean.  She is a great model to paint.  Fongwei is a great teacher.  I've learned a lot of techniques and tips that I can use to improve my paintings of people as well as all other subjects. 

Oil on canvas board, 12x9

Sunflowers 向日葵

This painting was done a while back.   I recently rebrushed it to make the colors more in unity.   I like this version better.

Oil on canvas board, 12x9 

Guadalupe River 小河淌水

The Guadalupe River flows from Canyon Lake to New Braunfels in Texas hill country and continues down to the south to reach the Gulf of Mexico.  It is a very popular river for tubing in the summer.   Even though the summer gives the most fun time tubing on the river for most of visitors, this river offers unlimited beauty in all seasons.  This painting is one scenic spot by the River Road near New Braunfels.

Oil on canvas board, 9x12, Private collection

Along the Guadalupe River 河邊漫步

The River Road is in between New Braunfels and Canyon Lake in Texas hill country.  I enjoy driving on this scenic road that has many beautiful spots along the way.  This painting is a view from a camping ground with big cypress trees along the river.

Oil on canvas board, 12x9

Morning Glory @ Lily Lake 湖邊晨光

We were in Lily Lake of Rocky Mountain National Park one early morning to search for a good spot for our plein air painting.  We circled the lake and found this amazing sun ray coming through the pine trees by the lake.  This beautiful scene gave me a feeling of heaven on earth.   I wanted to paint this picture, but this location was a little too far for me to bring my painting gears over from the parking lot.  So I did a mental color study on location and took a few pictures for reference.  Here is the painting from my photos and my memory. 

Oil on canvas board, 9x12

Autumn at Taos, NM 秋色宜人

Autumn in Taos is the most beautiful season to see the amazing colors.  This painting shows the main road in Arroyo Seco in the northern Taos with the backdrop of Taos Mountain.  We had fun to shop in one of the gift shops here and bought a few things to take home.  I gave this painting to my dear friend Cheryl as a birthday present. 

Oil on canvas board, 9x12, private collection