We have fall colors too here in Texas. The leaves of cypress trees by San Antonio River turn into sandy red and orange colors in December. It was an overcasted December afternoon we were killing time and waiting for a Christmas Show to start. I saw this calm and somewhat unique scenery that was begging for a painting.
Can you believe this painting is a view of our back yard from the living room of the place we stayed in Taos, NM? It was a fabulous trip we (4 artists) took in October 2009. Taos is such a magical place for artists. It certainly left with me lots of nice and fun memories.
My friend, Shiang, sent me a photograph via e-mail that she took in Monet's Garden when she visited Paris. Here is the painting I did for this famous and beautiful garden. 
When my brother, John, and his friends visited us last year we spent one day to visit the charming San Antonio River Walk. We did a river cruise to enjoy the scenic view of the famous tour attraction. This painting is a view from our boat cruising around a quiet part of the river. All you see were trees, water, and a boat ahead of us. There were no restaurants and busy crowds as in other part of river. After lunch we then sat on the patio of the River Center Mall to enjoy the nice breeze and listen to some Latin music played by a group of musicians. It was a beautiful day. San Antonio River has made a great impression for my family and friends from Taiwan.
Cruising down the Li River in Guilin, China is one of the most serene experiences I ever had. The unique peak formation on both side of the river, the rice fields, the fishermen, the flowing water, and the mist setting in the valleys took my breath away. I did this painting for my dear friend, Chuli, to wish her a happy birthday (I won't tell you how young she is).
A lonely boat docked in a misty river under the willow tree. What a poetic scene! I did this painting for my dear friend, Edna Chiao, who wrote a poem (in Chinese as follows) on my green fan to reflect my current life as an artist. The English version is also shown below.
It was an early morning in Catalina Island with overcasted skies. The sunlights tried pricking out from the clouds. It was a peaceful scene and good for meditation and reflection. This painting has limited color range and presents a scene of the waking-up earth. I am a morning person and enjoy watching the amazing color changes on landscape during the sunrise.
Many restaurants in Europe like to set up some tables outside in the open air. We walked by this restaurant not far from our hotel. The bright and beautiful table colors under the full sun was a picture perfect for my painting. Don't you just want to sit down to have a nice meal there? 
Thanks to the abundant rain in the past winter. Nature has given us the most splendid wild flowers in the great land of Texas in the Spring of 2010. The miles and miles of fields were covered with bluebonnets, Indian paint brushes, white poppies, and many unnamed pink, yellow, and purple flowers. Of course the cactus were blooming as well. The lavender fields were in the best looking and fragrance in several years. I along with many of my artist friends did several outings for photos and plein air paintings. We had lots of fun this spring.
Isn't she lovely - catching the wave along with the seagulls? This cute little girl was playing at the Catalina beach while we were doing plein air painting. What an innocent picture!
My dear friend Joy Yu, my sister (Jin-Feng) and I were visiting Dan-Shui Harbor one afternoon during my visit to Taiwan. While on the beach we saw this amazing sunset. I took a variety of shots to capture the glimpse of nature's fine creation. I love the atmosphere of sunrise and sunset - its beauty takes my breath away. Dan-Shui is a lovely little harbor town in the northern Taiwan. It's only 30 minutes away from Taipei by taking the subway. We also enjoyed its "old town" which has many interesting stores. I especially like the one bakery that let us taste all sorts of sweets - yum... they were delicious. Of course the seafood was excellent over here too.
The famous Green Pier was our object to paint on the first day paint out with Ron Rencher in March 2010. I paint this one by standing by the shore line along the Cresent Street. People come and go and watch us painting. Once a while a few comments were made by people walking by. It was fun to paint these boats.
Shark Harbor is on the west side of Catalina away from the city noises of Avelon. The nature is in total control in this area. You don't find any city convenience. We did one day paint out in this area in a sunny day in March 2010. I painted this one on location with the sea breeze blowing and sea birds flying around. I know sunset would be fabulous, but we had to head back to civilization (Avelon) before dark since we had to drive through a long unpaved winding road.
Burano Island in Venice presents to the world travelers with its vibrant colors and romantic atmosphere. Each house is painted in a bright, happy color. It may not be acceptable in some of our neighborhoods, but it surely shows the unique character of this fishing village. We enjoyed working along the canals and checked out many little stores.
After abundance of rain last winter the great land of Texas is covered with beautiful bluebonnets and wildflowers. We spent 5 days doing plein air painting along the Bear Creek Trail. This is at the most awesome bluebonnet field we painted one day.
A ray of sun light shined on this old barn and tree tops near the old German settlers' camp ground called Mission Vallery in Texas hill country. This area is a hidden treasure in central Texas having many beautiful ranches near by.
This "Pink Lilies" painting was exhibited in the "Art in Bloom" fine art show in New Braunfels Art Gallery in March 2010. It received a honorable mention award. Here are the judge's comments:
We took a 5-day plein air painting trip with a well-known artist, Ron Rencher, to paint on Catalina Island in March 2010. Catalina is located outside Los Angeles about 90 minutes ferry ride from Long Beach. We spent 4 days painting the town of Avelon and one day in Shark Harbor which is on the west side of the island. We rode in a van from Avelon going through the winding mountain roads (16 miles) to Shark Harbor. Along the way the mountains and rolling hills were covered with grass and trees in the gorgeous, lavish greens. The air was so fresh and crisp. People said it resembled the landscape of Irland. The Shark Harbor is a charming place surrounded by big rocks, cliffs, sand beach, and with a beautiful backdrop of rolling hills as shown here in my painting.
My favor guy - Clifford. I painted this one using loose brushstrokes to show the muscular forms of a male figure. You guessed - he likes it. I really enjoyed this style of painting - using big brushes and some palette knifes. It gave me a sense of freedom to express my artistic skills.
A group of us along with the artist, Don Ward, did a 5-day plein air painting in April 2010. We painted 4 days along the Bear Creek that is located outside New Braunfels in Texas. We were so fortunate being able to see this beautiful part of Texas hill country in a private ranch. This painting was done on site along the road called "Bear Creek Trail". This is a lovely country road curving down from the hill. A red house pricking out from the trees plus the fenced-in meadow yeilds a lovely picture. It reminds me of the song "country road... takes me home...".
I painted this dark red zinnias in a glass jar a few months ago. It turned out pretty lovely.
I saw this charming window in an art gallery in Santa Fe, NM. The picture presents a nice warm color of harmony. The artistic tree branches and the scarce autumn leaves tells us it is the season of fall. 
It was a misty early morning when our ship arrived in Icy Strait, Alaska. I opened the curtain and saw the peaceful coastal line in front of me. With my PJ still on I grabbed my camera and stood on the balcony to quickly capture the moment of tranquility. The misty mountain in the backdrop and the sailboat in the foregound, I wonder who is living in that blue house?
Look at the mommy duck and these baby ducks swimming happily in the sunny stream. The falling leaves in the water make a nice decoration for them. 
Yes, we can have a cold winter as well in south Texas. This winter (late 2009-early 2010) has been a long stretch of cold and wet days. The trees were showing the bare bones and water is cold. One bright side of this wet weather is that it nourishes the soil and will bring lots of beautiful wild flowers and bluebonnets in Texas soon in the Spring. I can't wait to see its arrival. 
