En Plein Air: Austin Street in Summer Morning (Oil, 12 x 8)

Yesterday while I was taking a walk around Kew Gardens Cinema, I decided to paint the facade of Austin Ale House this morning. It looked so interesting when half of the building was overshadowed by the high apartment building across the street. Against the brightly sun-lit orange brick wall behind, everything in the shadow was so dark. However, by the time I got there this morning, there was a TV crew shooting a sitcom or some program about cops, using the whole block as its setting. I noticed there were several big catering trucks and tents right in front of the bar. It totally altered the composition in my mind for the picture. Therefore, I made a change on spot and decided to paint its facade on Lefferts Ave. It was still early, only the tip of the roof top was touched by the rising sun.

En Plein Air: Street Scene (Oil, 12 x 9)

My friends David, Ariel, and I met at the intersection of Greenway N. and Markwood Rd. in Forest Gardens to paint the street scene this morning. I have to credit David for discovering the chimney of a house down the road. He mentioned  to me last week the chimney which reminded me of a miniature stone pagoda of Japanese garden. Then, when I noticed the stone wall of the terrace along the sidewalk, I could not but smile to myself because it brought to my mind the stone walls of the Japanese royal palace in Kyoto. Therefore, we decided to paint it.

En Plein Air: Forest Park Reconstruction (Oil, 9 x 12)

The Forest park near Overlook Gate is under reconstruction. It seems that a baseball field and some other park facilities are being added to it.

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En Plein Air: 4 Deepdene Rd. (Oil, 12 x 9)

I liked the stone doorway of the house so I simple set up across the street and painted its door. It was a street in the basin of the wooded neighborhood. That is why it was named Deepdene Road, I guess.

Thoughts on Visual Art for the Artist Appreciation Month

My friends at Patience Brewster recently reminded me that August is the Month of Artist Appreciation and asks me to write something about the artists who have inspired me.

Looking back all the years since I seriously started learning art , I realize it could be too long a list which includes classic, modern, and contemporary artists. At the beginning, I was crazy about Russian realist artist Ilya Repin's expressive power and landscape master Isaac Levitan's sentimentality. Then came the classic masters of Rembrandt's and Rubens's exquisiteness. My exposure to Impressionists made me feel totally carried away by Monet's perception of light and color. Shortly after that, I became a spellbound admirer of Klimt. My passion about sunshine made Spanish artist Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida a god for me to worship. Of course, I owe any of my recent improved techniques to contemporary American artist such as Kim English, Marc Dalessio, Jeremy Lipking, Richard Schmid, etc.

Interestingly, the more I study it, the more questions I have about art. I believe a theory in my teaching, that is, there is no art history but only artists in history. Why should we lump up very different artists under the name of Impressionism simply because they happened to hold a show together and the only thing they had in common was they were sick and tired of the traditional academician way of painting? What is great art? Why does good art appeal to so many viewers. In other words, good art must please aesthetically human eyes, right? Then I believe that good art is just a magic combination of art elements, including line, shape, color, value, etc., as much as the reason why some songs appeal to us because of a magic combination of music elements. In that sense, I think, realism and abstract art are only two extremes of a continuum. If you go to MoMA to see Monet's lily pond paintings, you know what I mean. Because he naturally slid to the other end of the continuum and doesn't care for the form of objects.

The conception of art is constantly expanding including its expressive form. I am often amazed by some creative expressions in street art. Like the fast-developing technological world, no one can anticipate what will become of tomorrow's art. As far as I am concerned, like a beach walker, I am happy and satisfied if I happen to pick up a few small colorful shells in the sea of art.

To me, painting is a personal thing. I don't have much interest in participating art competition or exhibitions. I enjoy more the process of painting than the product of it. Mainly, I am a self-taught artist. If I have to name a contemporary artist whom I am indebted to, it is Marc Dalessio, an American artist teaching at Florence Academy of Art, Italy. He is so generous with teaching of skills in his website that I have stolen a lot of creative ideas from him. Besides, he is a fast painter and can even paint in his car during a traffic jam.

If you are unfamiliar with the work of Patience, she is the founder of a one-artist company which specializes in hand painted ornaments Patience herself designs. Here is her company's site:  http://www.patiencebrewster.com/ornaments.html.

En Plein Air: Summer Morning in Manhattan (Oil, 12 x 9)

It showered this morning. I hesitated as to whether I should go out to paint. The sky seemed to have cleared up after breakfast, so I decided to go. I took F train and got out of E. 63rd St. on Lexington Ave. The Catholic Church on E. 67th St. was in the dark shaded area but the Central Park was a little too far. As I was deciding, the sun suddenly came out of clouds and glared down on the street. It shone right along E. 67th St, cutting through Lexington Ave. I set up by a square column of Hunter College building's covered sidewalk -- a perfect place to look at the effect of the sun on the thoroughfare.

En Plein Air: Maryam (Oil, 9 x 12)

I had hurt my back recently, so I didn't want to go too far to paint. Pulling my kit, I walked along Markwood St. in Forest Gardens, looking for something to paint. There was a sizable clearing in the woods, which I liked very much. It was a dip from the surrounding area. With thick foliage of big trees around, it was a pretty cool shaded area. From a distance, I saw a young lady sitting crisscross on the grass working on her laptop. She formed a perfect picture. Therefore, I walked over and asked whether she would stay there for some time and if I could paint her. She accepted with a smile, saying she would be there for a while. Her name is Maryam and she is a New York high school teacher. Maryam is a great model.

Maryam later sent me the story she was writing as I was painting her. It is a touch story and, in fact, a story within story as far as my painting is concerned. Here is her story:

https://motherteachbake.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/