Boise Trip Inspiration

Inspired by the gorgeous scenery along the drive to Boise.

Clouds Over the Prairie, Oil, 7x5

The large one below took a long time, especially for creating an interesting foreground.

Sunset Over the Mountains, Oil, 20x16

Starting From Dead Bird and Fishes

I started studying with Larine a few weeks ago and renting studio space part time. It's been a great learning experience, makes me really happy and productive (though often times I spend more time nursing and holding Daniel than painting). Larine is a wonderful teacher and is incredibly supportive (holds Daniel while critiquing a lot :-). This class and the Boise trip got me into the fervor of art making again (was getting "writers block" on a piece of work before), even into wee hours, whenever I can squeeze out a little time.

Doing master copies is like musicians playing scale, an essential practice that I tend to skip on my own. I learned a lot while doing these with Larine's instructions. It's not about capturing the likeness but capturing the techniques. She pushes me to do them efficiently by noting the eye path and focusing on the larger shapes and values.

A still life set up I did for the first lesson. A bit of thoughts went into composition arrangement and building the eye path.

Metal Bowl and Rose, Oil, 10 x8

Larine's Monday Class at our session right before Christmas  

A Lesson From Beautiful Stones

I’ve been busy with a new hobby recently, sifting through lots of beautiful gem stones and glass beads.  I took an introductory class on making wire earrings with both boys (I don’t recommend bringing a whining 3-month-old) at Ben Franklin last Tuesday.  It started out as an idea for Christmas gift and then turned into a 20+ hour serious pursuit for a fundraising sale for charity at work this Thursday and Friday. I received an unexpected gift to myself during the experience.

From doing the work, I rediscovered my love for beautiful gem stones (I loved picking up rocks as a kid) and the joy of designing combinations that works in a jewelry. I also decided that it’s financially unfeasible to make a living doing crafts — the amount of time I put in was incredibly disproportional to the cost. I’m glad I was only doing it for fun.

I came in excited about the pieces and the possibility of raising money for charity, so I had lofty expectations. However, the first day was dismal. I only sold two pairs of earrings, to a girl who was doing most of her Christmas shopping at this fair. I felt more let down after a lecture from a friend rehashing the unfeasibility of making a living doing crafts. My unique handmade art for the charitable cause at the small cost of two Jamba Juices didn’t make the sale. I came to terms with it only afterwards. It’s like how I came to terms with people spendings hundreds or more on the latest technological gadgets yearly but never willing to invest in a more timeless piece of art: different things speak to different people. One is only willing to invest in what one is passionate about. It was a learning process for me too, as I started out as someone who didn't buy any. What I learned was the simple principle of only buying what evokes your emotion. You can sense the heart and soul that an artist put into a piece when it compels you. That is the timeless element of it.

My disappointment also came from my higher expectation of sales. Buddhism teaches going in with no expectations, while I went in with expectation elevated by enthusiasm. I had lost sight of the fact that I was selling a feminine product in a male-dominant environment. The most valuable part of the lesson came when I realized this would be what I would have to face on a daily basis if I were to be a true artist. I took the lack of sales as failure and rejection and had a hard time accepting it. That evening I told Matthew I was done with making earrings.

I had a much more enjoyable time on Friday despite the lousy sales. I enjoyed talking about art with a few people visiting my booth. Matthew IM’ed me this blog in the middle of the day, which summarized my learning:

You know that you had to hear a lot of “no” for every “yes”. If you’re not yet a pro, or perhaps more importantly if you are a pro whose enjoyed a taste of success, then hear this: Get Used To Hearing “No”.Let “no” serve as a motivator…Let “no” keep out the other people who don’t want it as bad as you do…Let “no” remind you that this job isn’t for everyone, especially the uncommitted…Let “no” turn you into a better artist…

Thank you sweetie. This is so important for me to remember in my pursuit of an artistic career.


Looking back, I’m so grateful for this crazily busy but wonderful experience. I was inspired by the giving spirit, from my first purchase from a dear friend before the sale event, to my first customer at the event, other “sellers” at the event, and the Googler who I heard donates 40% of his salary to charity. I doubled my yearly donation. I’m grateful for making some of earrings with my 4-year-old. (He insisted on handing different tools to me as we worked like surgeons on an operating table.) I’m grateful to Matthew and my friends who helped load and unload all the paintings and earrings for the event. And I’m most grateful for this lesson about building perseverance for taking no for an answer. Am I done with the earring-making fever? Nope! I made these last night:

I continue to discover and let the stream of creativity guide me…

Montlake Terrace Art Show 9/24 - 10/2

I worked on entering into the 33rd Annual Arts of the Terrace 2011 Juried Art Show until the day before giving birth since the digital entry deadline was on the baby delivery day (8/31). I was glad to hear that they all got in and the "Baby Giraffe" painting won Honable Mention. The show runs from this coming weekend to the next weekend. Hope to see you there.

Paintings	Miniatures

July and August

It's been a busy and productive summer. Sometimes I feel like racing with time, trying to get as much painting time in before the baby comes, but once I made the time for it, it becomes a fountain of tranquility and energy.

I've been going to more long pose figure drawing sessions. Below are a few studies. The reclining one is from last Sunday (8/21), where I experimented with leaving the background blank (it's usually a good practice to cover the background with some color so the canvas white doesn't seem so glaringly distracting). I liked the negative space it created. I was also happy with capturing the likeness of model in that angle (found it a bit challenging).

Outside of drawing sessions, I completed a couple of still life paintings using Andy's stuffed animals as models. He often asked "mama, did you paint my ducks?" or "are you done with my giraffe?" so that pushed me along. I tried to keep the workshop learning in mind and did careful pencil drawing and color studies of each, and realized the benefit of slowing down -- when the structures are put in place correctly, it simplifies the big picture completion so I'm not constantly re-adjusting the composition when I'm in the later working out value and color phases.

Figure Drawing Workshop with Juliette Aristedes workshop

I took a two day workshop "FIGURE DRAWING ON TONED PAPER" with Juliette Aristides this weekend (7/30-7/31). Yesterday had an extra free drawing session 5:30-7:30 so it was a solid 10 hour day that felt good to be immersed in art. It was a really nice learning experience. A few technical notes:
- Before start, measure overall shape, know where the weight is resting, ask what's the angle, and what's the subject matter (what you want to convey).
- Be slow and methodical. Take all the time you need and make every piece your best. Juliette said she's not a patient person by nature, but with drawing, slowing down is the fastest way to get to the best result. She made an analogy of good bread vs. bad bread: same basic ingredients, but the process, the additive, the speed of churn out separates the two apart. I often find myself starting out too fast not working out all the issues early enough and then having to do major surgery to on components later sometimes. So that's an area I'm consciously working on.
- At the early state, start with more small lines than big contour lines so it's easier to correct (finding which and what's wrong with particular segment instead of a whole contour is easier). We spent the first day on measuring and doing the initial block in. We did a few drills of short gestures with measuring and worked on blocking in one major piece.
- On the second day we mainly talked about value. She shared an interesting insight of achieving balance from simpler shapes and complex edges (can't both be complex or it'd look overly busy). In the initial stage, keep shadows simple and flat, omit details.
- Form shadow to model form: try to drag across value, start from the dark side to build half tone.
As a well-read teacher, Juliette got us to read a poem by Longfellow about a poet's view on poems, gave 3 questions to ponder and talked about the next day. This is quite unusual in a technical art workshop and it's my first time discussing poem (as I'm a complete poem illiterate). It was quite fascinating to hear all different views and answers to the questions and hear the teacher cleverly related it back to art interpretation.

Day 1 extra eve session

day 2 tonal study

Day 1 long pose block in

Day 2 long pose final

April to June 2011

Deadlines give me motivation. Entered a couple new (and 3 older) pieces for Edmonds Art Fest.

Sunset On the Farm (6x4)

Basking in the Sun (4x6)

Did a bit of travelling in May and June (probably last of it before the baby comes). The NYC trip was really good for art. I sat in on Art Student League classes as much as I could (on the arriving weekend and after work on weekdays). Going for the night painting sessions felt like going to a second job after a full day in the office , but it's one of those things that I'd forget all the tiredness and just love it the moment I set one foot in the door. It was indeed rewarding.

Travelling gave me a big block of time to myself (something that almost feels foreign nowadays), but I learned from this trip that it's important to make time for oneself, even when you have kids. It felt great to catch up on reading, podcast, and making art.

Man in Coat, 5x7

Pigeon, 8x10

p.s. I'm catching up on blog finally because I'm on a 3-day work trip in Mountain View, well, in the deep woods of Kennolyn camp with no cell reception (but internet at night). It's such a nice retreat.