Original Art Stories - Xueling Zou

We were all ready, but the model hadn't arrived yet.  So the organizer asked for two people there to be temporary models.  Our model was African American female tonight, she lives in Oakland, and must have been in bad traffic for arriving 30 minutes late. When she started her pose, wow, each one was so inspiring.  Just a great model for sketching. Elegant lines and her poses were so interesting and dynamic.  Wish could have her more often. (April 19 2022)

We had one of our favorite model doing short pose to night, beautiful African American professional figure. Though I was tired, but was inspired by each of her pose  (March 22 2022)

It is the first day of our Chinese New Year.  After my hesitation as to whether I should go painting, I finally decided to follow my passion and go paint.  Though in our culture we celebrate new year for 15 days usually, lifestyle has to be adapted to living in a different culture.  Our model was a very tall and beautiful professional African American model, she was from a very artsy San Jose family.  She sat very still and had kept her facial expression too.  I'm still trying to work on my duotone style in oil, struggling through for 3 hours.  Our model liked the result, it made me happy. (February 1 2022)

Last Tuesday's (right) and yesterday's (left) Both were 3-hour session live male model oil studies. The model was kind to pose next to my work last Tuesday. Yesterday I worked with a group of  Chinese professionals. A couple of them were master oil painters. Tried to work on new ideas inspired by them, but it didn't look right... Then we had a party for celebrating the shortest daylight in the evening! (December 21 2021) )

On this special day, I'd love share my story how I started painting African American portraits, because some viewers are always curious about what inspires me to paint them. I was told by many that the colors I painted were warm and soft, and the facial expressions were so well captured. I was asked why I kept painting them instead of others, or if I had a secret reason to do so... A lot of very interesting questions... First  I don't think that each artist has to have a hidden reason for painting.  I haven't been professionally trained in a real art school.  Painting Asian faces is challenging to me. I don't live in a neighborhood full of African Americans, but I enjoy their music and culture.  Their face expression can tell a story to a visual artist from China like me. One of my favorite novels is "Gone with the Wind".  I read it many times in Chinese, and watched the movie countless times.  In June 2007, I visited Atlanta, Georgia.  O...

This series of African American portraits I painted is based on the portraits I captured at the Art & Soul Festivals in Oakland, CA since 2009. There were a few I did after visiting New York as well. I really enjoy studying African American face expression. Please let the people know if you recognize a familiar face, it might be you, your friend or family member. Thank you. Hope you will like my portrait art.

"An artist is a dreamer consenting to dream of the actual world." ― George Santayana "In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson "The principles of true art is not to portray, but to evoke." ― Jerzy Kosinski "The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance." ― Aristotle "The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection." ― Michelangelo "If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." ― Vincent Van Gogh "Art in Nature is rhythmic and has a horror of constraint." ― Robert Delaunay "Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together." ― John Ruskin "Art begins with resistance - at the point where resistance is overcome. No human masterpiece has ever been created without great l...

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...

I am pretty sure that I am not the only one Chinese female visual artist interested in studying on black people's face structure, skin tones and the expressions. Since my portrait paintings were uploaded onto the Fine Art America (FAA), I have got mostly positive feedback from the artists over the world. Thanks for that! Born and grew up in Beijing China, studied and lived in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, traveled to many counties in Asia, Europe and South (Central) America and now I have lived in Silicon Valley for over 11 years. I am always interested in different cultures, different people and different food, no political interest at all. America, is one of the biggest countries with multi-cultural identity and we all admire it. If we only could understand each other from the one universal language - Love; if we could treat each just only one race - the human race. But now in the 21st century, I would never have thought I could be so confused by the question of race in th...

The Little Black Boy BY WILLIAM BLAKE (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) My mother bore me in the southern wild, And I am black, but O! my soul is white; White as an angel is the English child, But I am black, as if bereav'd of light. My mother taught me underneath a tree, And sitting down before the heat of day, She took me on her lap and kissed me, And pointing to the east, began to say: "Look on the rising sun: there God does live, And gives his light, and gives his heat away; And flowers and trees and beasts and men receive Comfort in morning, joy in the noonday. And we are put on earth a little space, That we may learn to bear the beams of love; And these black bodies and this sunburnt face Is but a cloud, and like a shady grove. For when our souls have learn'd the heat to bear, The cloud will vanish; we shall hear his voice, Saying: 'Come out from the grove, my love and care, And round my golden tent like lambs rejoice.' " Th...

Being not black nor white, I am pretty sure that I am not the only one Chinese female visual artist interested in studying on black people's face structure, skin tones and the expressions. Since my portrait paintings were uploaded onto the Fine Art America, I have got mostly positive feedback from the artists over the world. Thanks for that! I've been around. I believe a majority of people can live together and get along peacefully! Born and raised in Beijing China, studied and lived in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, traveled to many counties in Asia, Europe and South America and now I have lived in Silicon Valley for over 11 years. I am always interested in different cultures, different people and different food, no political interest at all. America, is one of the biggest countries with multi-cultural identity and we all admire it. If we only could understand each other from the one universal language - Love; if we could treat each just only one race - the human race. Th...

BEAUTIFUL BLACK WOMAN - By Vernon J. Davis Jr. Author of " Love Is The Beautiful Black Woman" Beautiful black woman, Your beauty is surpassed by none. Beautiful black woman, Your sensuous splendor is like the shining sun Your wondrous ways come from your soul Which no one man may hope to control Beautiful black woman, You are the guiding hope of our people Beautiful black woman, your mind maintains your glorious power. Beautiful black woman, Your spirit is like a shining church tower which points the way to heaven above and which seeks to find true love. Beautiful black woman, you are the guiding hope of our people. Beautiful Black woman, Your time is like a precious commodity. Beautiful Black Woman, Your ebony will is strong and free, so take your precious time, and your determined will, and use them both to emphasize what you really feel. Beautiful black woman, you are the guiding hope of our people. Beautiful black woman, In you lies our future! Please view my portrait g...