Happy New Year from Paris!

"By the Seine River"
24" x 18"
oil on canvas

With Modigliani

"With Modigliani" - oil on canvas, 24" x 18"

It's been raining everyday in the city.
Wouldn't it be nice to be sitting in a cafe reading your favorite story - with a Modigliani?

The Cellist

"The Cellist" - oil on canvas, 24" x 18"

Here is another figurative painting, which I'm focusing on these days. Any suggestions are welcome!

The Night Before

"The Night Before" - oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

After a long, long break (almost a year and a half), I've finally got to paint again! This was the longest break I've ever had since I started my painting career, which was depressing but unavoidable ...
Anyway, I'm back to my canvas, and open to any comments including constructive suggestions from anyone who view my paintings here.

New York Cityscape (Karin Jurick's DSDF challenge) - Day 5

Today I added a few more details and gave it a final touch as follows: Added an imaginary red SUV in the middle to help flow of red. Added a bit more blue tone to the distant buildings to create 'smoky' urban atmosphere. Added another small traffic signal post and a lamppost. And little more details on the buildings. It was a really fun experience and many thanks to Karin Jurick for giving us this great opportunity to participate and share with others. Here is the final painting.

"Madison Avenue, New York City" - oil on canvas, 30 x 24 in

And here are some close-up shots:

New York Cityscape (Karin Jurick's DSDF Challenge) - Day 4

Today I added more details to the painting - windows on the buildings, features on the cars, people on the street, etc. I think I can finish it by tomorrow.
Below is the photo reference from Karin's DSDF blog.

New York Scape - Day 3

Today I started painting in oil. I tried to set the values (a fancy word for light and dark) in the painting. Pretty much blocked in general areas. More detail work will follow tomorrow.

New York Cityscape (Karin Jurick's DSDF Challenge) - Day 2

From Day 1: the reference photo and my sketch on toned canvas


Today I underpainted with acrylic paints. I used two colors - red for warm and dark blue for cool. Basically I applied red to hotspots (the areas to be highlighted later), the sky and taxicabs. Then dark blue (it appears really dark due to the burnt sienna that I used to tone the canvas) to buildings, structures, the ground and cab windows. This is not a science project, and there is no firm rules as to what goes to where. I just kinda followed my intuition. Now it's ready for the oil treatment which will start tomorrow. Good time to take a break.

Happy Mother's Day!

"Feeding Time" - oil on canvas, 24 x 18 in

Thought this painting should be appropriate for a Mother's Day post.

New York cityscape - Day 1

Today I finally decided to try Karin Jurick's Different Strokes from Different Folks (DSDF) challenge. She invites artists to enter their paintings created based on the photo images posted on her blog. For more info on Karin Jurick and her blog, click here and go to May 3rd. posting. The challenge photograph this time is a New York cityscape (see above).

First I toned my canvas with acrylic burnt sienna to generate warm feelings on the overall painting. Although I intend to paint in oil, my underpainting would be in acrylic. As I mentioned on my earlier postings, I'm taking advantage of acrylic's fast drying quality. Then I sketched out rough outlines with my yellow oxide acrylic. Here is what I've got so far. Tomorrow I'll start underpainting blocks - can't wait!

Moonlight Sonata

"Resting Cello" - oil on canvas, 24 X 18 in

Sold

Sometimes I get struck by 'artist's block'. I just simply can't figure out what to paint. Then I lie down, turn on the online radio and tune to my favorite station - KDFC (the classical music station from San Francisco). Moonlight Sonata was filling my studio. And soon I found myself painting ... "Resting Cello".

Italian Flavor

"Tuscan View" - oil on canvas, 30 x 24 in

Wouldn't it be nice to have a glass of wine looking down the vineyards of Tuscany? Or ...

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How about a gondola ride in Venice?

"Venice-scape" - oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in

Sometimes you just want to run.

"Freedom" - Watercolor, 20 x 30 in

Sometimes you just want to run.
Just run and keep on running.
And visualize yourself turning into one of those horses - free and wild - dashing on the vast meadows.

Still Life with a Tea Pot

Tea Pot and Flowers, oil on canvas, 24 x 18 in

Still Life with a Toothbrush (Day 5)

Finally I painted the rest - the toothbrush and toothpaste (almost empty now). Here is the finished painting.

"Squeezed Out One More Time" - oil on canvas, 16 x 20 in