Before Exams

I still have the nightmares about how nervous I was during exams, how much I was afraid to fail, and how hard the exam questions were, or there never was enough time to finish what I tried to write, after I had been done with school for so long... I guess our Chinese culture trains us that we should do our best in our classes, if one failed, you could loose your own face and your family's, friends', etc..

My mother was too busy with her work, and never paid too much attention to how I was doing, but I knew if I could get straight A's, I could get to travel allowance, which I always looked forward to. I was kind of lost for quite a long time, didn't know what to learn, I mean that I didn't find any subject I had passion for. Of course, I enjoyed very much studying at school for as long as I could remember (I believe that I love the learning process, at the same time I hate all the exams, though I am not a book warm type.). So many awards I earned of Mathematics and Literature (in Chinese). But I never had confidence like many others' before and during exams, only hard labors... Then, I chose the most difficult journey - to study overseas.

First, English is my second language. Chinese and English are totally different languages for sure! I had to pass all the exams in English, endless books and essays... I could not believe how I had done it, but I still make mistakes each day now in English. Interestingly, I did much better at school than some of the native English speakers most of time. I never failed any exam and I was able to keep my high marks kept going back to learn more...

Finally, I've found my passion - art twelve years ago, in 2001. I have to tell myself in a very positive way that it is never to be too late to learn. Keep learning, it is really a life time course for me! Now I am very happy that I can paint, but I seldom dream about painting, only the old horrible exams that still haunt me, though I gave away all my old books those I carried from country to countries ...

I hope this painting can help me to release one of my negative feeling of all the previous exams.

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Storytelling artist Xueling Zou who works in ♦️ watercolor & ♦️ oil mediums on ♦️ original art Plein Air paintings. Ship worldwide since 2010 @ https://about.me/xuelingzou@ about.me/xuelingzou or http://xueling-zou.pixels.com

Original Art Story

Original Art Story - The Colors of La Boca Argentina

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Colorful La Boca grew to become an Italian (mostly from Genoa) district of Buenos Aires, Argentina in a very short time in mid-19th-century. It used to be the area where Italian immigrants arrived, and settled in the poorest of conditions. Their houses were built by the leftover corrugated iron and other waste found in the nearby harbour and industry on the Riachuelo river. In order to make the neighbourhood more interesting, they decided to paint their houses in bright colors by using the leftover paint from boats - hence the many different colours that can be seen. Where first a small river flowed, the area that now is Caminito had tracks installed, and when those were not used anymore, this developed into an ugly, abandoned part of La Boca. There were several museums with paintings portraying its hard-working inhabitants in the shipyards and on the docks. Local artist Quinquela Martín painted the walls of the street, which now we know as Caminito (which means little path in Spanish)...
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Paintings with Auspicious Symbols V - Peacocks 孔雀東南飛

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I was inspired by the Chinese traditional folk art style to create a couple of peacocks with eight peony-flowers oil painting on canvas recently, which I named "Peacocks Flying Southeast 孔雀東南飛". "Peacocks Flying Southeast" is well-known to Chinese and is a phenomenal poem in Chinese literary history. It is one of the collections of the Music Academy (YueFu) formed by the Han Dynasty (196—219 AD) courts to gather literary works created largely for the common people. It was about a tragic love story between a young couple, who promised to love each other forever. Perhaps the morbid mother-in-law could not stand the daughter-in-law coming between her and her son. Eventually she broke up the marriage when her son was working out of the town. The young couple’s dream and promise of living together was shattered. Both their families forced them to marry someone else. So this young couple took their own lives, fulfilling their commitment of love in a different world....
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Chinese Moon Festival II - A Classical Poem and Homesick 中秋节思乡

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Dream in the Night — Interpreted by Xu YuanChong Abed, I see a silvery light, I wonder if it's frost aground. Looking up, I find the moon bright; Bowing, in homesickness I'm drowned. 静夜思 — 李白 床前明月光， 疑是地上霜。 举头望明月， 低头思故乡。 (Please click the image to enlarge) This poem written by Li Bai (701 – 762) who was a major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period  - China's "golden age" of classical Chinese poetry (  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Bai ). It was one of the first classical poems I was taught before my primary school. Of course, I would not know the meaning at that young age. The older I get and the farther I live from home, the deeper I feel this poem, which is more often appearing in my head. Hiding my tears used to be part my character. But now, I can no longer control it behind my eyes whenever I think of it... Another Mid-Autumn Festival is coming again, which is a popular lunar harvest festival celebrated by Chinese...
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Original Art Stories - Tribute to Whitney Houston

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Watching "The Bodyguard" in the movie theater, my English was still very limited to understand every piece of the story back then. But I was so moved by Whitney Houston's beauty, talent and emotion expression, especially the song "I Always Love You" - her magical singing stuck into my head forever... I did hear the music of National Anthem before. After the movie, I had found out Whitney Houston's incredible powerful voice in the recording of that song. Her Welcome Home Heroes concert with HBO for the soldiers fighting in the Persian Gulf War and their families made the whole nation feel proud of her. Her concert gave HBO its highest ratings ever after that! Many records of hers not only rocked the music world, and also introduced me into her music world! Since then, I realized I became a fan of hers. I started paying more attention to other kinds of music besides classical, like jazz, blues, etc.. We lost a beautiful artist, a talented singer, an...
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Plein Air @ Baylands Nature preserve Palo Alto CA 加州風景寫生

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Palo Alto Baylands Nature preserve is one of those places that has been inspiring most California Plein Air painters for years. I went to paint several times, hadn't found a better way to express it then through watercolor media yet. It was a little cooler today, grey with dramatic clouds in the sky at the location. Felt a little lost with my new color palette, could not follow my usual watercolor's flow to loosen up. And Alizarin Crimson made a small mess, not sure why it was so liquid?  Anyway, I painted a scene  moving objects around a bit, and I wish I would be inspired by this place to return and paint again someday soon.  Good day for practicing.
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3 hours session live model study in oil - work in progress

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Time flies, already December of the year!  It has been over one month since I did a three-hour session of an oil live model study.  The same model from the previous session.  I painted her from a different angle.  Tried to remind myself to paint loosely without too much care.  I like the new gray paper I just bought, the tones came out very efficiently.  (December 2 2021)
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Plein Air @ Downtown Woodside CA and Short-pose male live model drawing

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It wasn't a perfect day for Plein Air, I brought my work stuff and went to check where I could paint. All just because of my curiosity about downtown Woodside. Not easy to find a parking spot, walked around a little bit. Not sure why it seemed to me that this tiny downtown was so interesting to come and check out. Might be the day I got lost in the mountain for an hour, and finally I found some people were in the town. Parked my car off the street. And I decided to paint the interesting building called the Firehouse Bistro, looked like a historic building to me. But there wasn't anything I could find on Google out, only the restaurant. I spent a lot of time working on the sky, later found out it wasn't necessary since the sky was behind on my painting. Caught up a little sunlight, it really did help me to understand the relationship of each part of building and surrounding construction. Great exercise, would be back on a sunny day to paint! In the early evening ...
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The Old Man and The Sea - Original Watercolor

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This original watercolor painting was inspired by Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and The Sea.  It is one of my favorite watercolors, and a great gift for Father's Day. (Please click the image to enlarge) I read this book in Chinese a long time ago, then I read it again in English when I was studying in Australia. Back to my overseas studying time, I had to take the ferries from the place I lived to school each day for a while. Not mention the terrible home sick I had, the ending of relationship with my first boy-friend, when I struggled with every single little detail in life. But nothing could stop my love of the ocean and I enjoyed taking ferries on beautiful and stormy days. Watching the sun-rising or sun-setting, sailing by the magnificent city landscape and the awesome boats out on the sea, I promised myself that I knew I would overcome the difficulties... Years later, I started painting watercolors after moving to Bay Area in California, and the first one in m...
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Plein Air @ near Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport CA

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Weather report said that there was a storm coming today. The rain stopped this morning, I went out without a target for outdoor painting. Got lost in an industrial area nearby the airport, instantly I saw many interesting subjects to paint. But it wasn't easy to find a parking spot. I painted next to a camper parked on the sidewalk. The person owned it really made it looked like a home. There was a solar panel connected, and there were garden stuff, like potted plants, outdoor cook etc.  The clouds looked very unique, but they were not easy to paint on such a gray day.   Many airplanes flew overhead making a very loud sound, I wondered when I could get started traveling again?  After my work was done, I packed and it started  raining again.  Felt lucky that my painting and I didn't get a single drop, perfect timing without knowing in advance, lol...
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Study on Boats I - Oil Paintings

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I love boats, studying on boats is a joy to me.  I can easily wander around dock, look at each one of the boats, take countless photos for hours.  Of course, I enjoy painting them as well.  To me, getting the best composition is the key of an successful painting, then shape, color palette... "The act of painting is a spiritual covenant between the maker and the higher powers. the Intent of the artist flows through the work of art, no matter what the technique or style."  (―Audrey Flack "Art &Soul - Notes on Creating") "It almost doesn't matter what you paint. It is what takes place during the act of painting that matters. It doesn't matter what style or technique you use. It is the artistic result and personal development that counts." As Joseph Addison (1672 – 1719, English essayist, poet, playwright and politician.) said, "The chief ingredients in the composition of those qualities that gain esteem and praise, are good nature, truth, go...
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