Original Art Stories - Xueling Zou

A gorgeous sunny warm day after the rains. First time at this location. I love plants, and it was not easy to me to start painting. Had to remind myself many times that I was here to paint, not shopping for plants. Then I decided to paint this large blue pot with a 'natives" sign inside the pot. Love this blue color, and all the native plants surrounding it. Didn't remember any of those names... Do you love plants?

Rainy day I didn't get up as early as usual. Checked my messages in bed, an artist invited me to Plein Air together. Weather report showed there was no rain between 10am and 3pm. I jumped out of bed, had a simple, quick breakfast and drove to the location. Paid $6 for parking just to save time. Usually I'd rather park in the street and walk into the park. Unfortunately I forgot my tripod, funny thing I thought about to leave an extra tripod in my car last night, but I didn't... I used my car trunk as a temporary table to work on the painting. Beautiful sunlight. There were colorful fall leaves on the trees and on the ground. Didn't prepare for the rain, soon it started raining. I tried to continue, but the rain fell down heavily. Well, I had to leave the park, not get enough time to justify the parking fee, but luckily I parked inside the park, otherwise I would have been soaked, lol...

🌲Happy Holidays聖誕快樂! "Never let somebody's drama determine the outcome of your day." - Unknown What a drama! I wanted to paint the factory nearby the Intel Campus for a long time. I sold another painting "Santa Cruz Light House", planned to meet my client at noon. It seemed like a perfect combination as both activities were nearby one and other. Drove three times around the factory, couldn't find a good spot, but the white plumes came out from the chimney flying into the cold wind looked super cool, and it inspired me to paint on such a cold morning. I saw a business door was opened, walked in and asked if it was OK to use the restroom. A guy and a woman working there told me that there was a sign "No public restroom". I overlooked it of course and so I went to elsewhere, no big deal. Ended up I found a shady spot next to a parked car next to the fence, and started my work. I heard a loud female voice yelling and I turned around, saw the...

I had a cold for days, finally could get out and paint. It was a warm gray winter day, 66 degrees around noon. Came to this historical street in the morning. It was not a big street, there were Coffee shops, restaurants, pubs and small businesses... It took me a little while to decide what to paint, because of no light and shadows. Got busier before lunch time, a huge truck suddenly parked in my view of the buildings crossed the street where I was working on. I don't paint in the crowds often, have forgotten how to deal the situation. It really forced to paint from my memory. I think it was a good experience for only working on the large shapes, simplify the details for practicing, and painted loosely...

I missed painting outdoors so much, so had to go to the location, though there was 20 percent chance of rain today. It didn't rain but it was grey most of time. I was excited to see the running water at the creek, because our raining season finally has started. But I forgot to bring my clips for clipping the watercolor paper on the board. No problem, lucky to join the group of watercolor artists painting there together today. Instantly I borrowed more than four clips from three artists. Not a very smooth beginning with my work, then I kept reminding myself that I was not here for painting what I saw. Artist should be creative by inspiration... Slowly, I had overcome my fear of paint by using darker watercolor paints. Finally my work got other artists' compliments. I believe that not because my own interpretation worked, also the borrowed clips had brought me the strength from other's. Do you agree with me? What a blast Thanksgiving break! Went to Chicago, Pennsylvania, ...

"When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed." -- Maya Angelou Perfect weather for painting outdoors. Nice to be with the other artists and enjoyed the fresh air and peacefulness. A pretty young lady from Romania with two young kids were sitting on the bench next to where I was painting. She asked her 4-year-old son to help take pictures for her and her younger baby she was holding in her arms. I stopped painting, and took photos for her with her kids. She was so happy and kept saying thanks to me many, many times. She told me that she thought the photos I took were very professional, and she seldom had good photos with both her babies together for being a busy mother, etc.. I was glad that I helped her capture these precious moments at such a beautiful location. And I added a Plain Air painter figure into my painting. Do you know who she is?

It was a grey day, I liked the dramatic sky and fall feeling. There were many kinds of birds, and my first time seeing Goldeye ducks from a distance. There were a lot of people jogging or walking. Some schoolchildren were out there for their nature class. More people were out of the office during lunch break. I painted the second one by turning ninety degrees at the same spot basically. My work got many compliments, including from those young students. It made me happier that more people knew how to appreciate an artist's work in progress, especially in Silicon Valley. An older guy stopped by and started asking so many questions, like where I had learned how to paint, how long does it take to finish a painting, how much does each work cost, was my talent genetic, etc. Then he started imagining if I was living during the Renaissance with all the great talents, etc. Lol... He stopped by again after he had done his jogging, told me that he had five grandchildren, so I decided to p...