Original Art Stories - Xueling Zou

Thought to do something different, Apple Park was a good place for sketching and not far from where I live. and some of our local artists were meeting up there today.  Sun came out this morning after weeks of rain. I was not well prepared for it. Found my pencils, sketch book, eraser and outdoor chair in a rush. Felt I should have more hands to carry each of them, why didn't I grab a bag and have everything in it? Warm in the sun, but not in the shade. There were many young olive trees, I guessed that they were the same age as the Apple Headquarters. Tried one sketch that had architecture, and one very stylish artist I drew her into my work. Then I started to draw other artists. Walked through the Apple park's "mirage" sculpture takes shape as iridescent glass pillars winding through trees. Chatted with several artists to catchup, left after in the afternoon. (January 25 2024)

My first time coming here to paint. Lucky I brought my down jacket, it was not a warm morning. Chose this view to practice at the picnic area. There wasn't enough rain this winter, so water level was quite low. We all have to learn how to save water in California, hope this year will be OK. (March 21 2022)

I saw beautiful waterlilies near Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve during the weekend. Planned to paint there this morning. Thought how I should paint today, didn't pay too much attention and turned into the highway... I guessed that helped to change my mood. Even though the water lilies were so beautiful, I decided to paint the landscape, where I painted last November and saw a couple of coyotes on the hill. Lovely morning being outdoors and painting. After my work was done, went to visit all the gorgeous water lilies, most of them were blooming... Each media has its challenging part to deal with. Watercolor paper dries too fast in warm or hot days for sure, and it takes too long to dry in a wet or cold day. How to adjust the outdoor painting time during the different weather conditions takes life time to develop I believe, though I have been painting almost twenty years, only have four years experience being a Plein Air painter. But feeling lucky I can be in the nature often...

Nov. 18 Came to one of our favorite trails to paint at a time when there was predicted little chance of rain. I couldn't make up my mind where to set up. Just because all the angles looked so beautiful at the time because of all dramatic lighting in the clouds. I knew there was no public restroom nearby and so had to limit my painting time. The hills here we had hiked countless times. There are only clouds here during the rainy season so it is particularly dramatic now. Two coyotes appeared on the trail, then disappeared into the grass in distance. It didn't rain, but the light changed dramatically in the short time I was there. Learned my lessons, had to plan what I wanted to paint, watercolor does not tolerate too many mistakes.    

My 3d time painted at this location with an other local artist today. As usual did a small study first, took me much longer time to paint. After stepping back to view my work, I realized that there were not enough values in my work (The top one). Came home continued working on the painting (The bottom one), not sure if it has improved or not. Fall is coming, there were leaves and little branches falling on my painting and on me while I was painting today. Could see leaves started turning colors in distance. What a challenging year!

2nd time I've come to this location, last time probably half a year ago. Really wanted to paint different scenes than the previous visit. Ended up I painted the same barns, only about 25 to 30 degrees differently than last time. It was a little bit windy and felt chilly in the shade. I thought that the one white car could balance the layout, actually there was a parking lot next to the building. The landscape plants were higher than the parking lot, the figures I put into the work looked confusing, how do you think? Also, my painting needs more contrast. Shall I add more darkness?

Add caption Another interesting new place I went to paint that used to be a horse ranch owed by the McClellan family in the 1930s, and still preserves the original ranch house, a working milk barn, livestock barn, and a replica blacksmiths shop, along with a natural reserve in the middle of the park. So many new ideas for painting, could not manage all in one small outdoor work. My inspiration is from nature, painting outdoors helps me feeling meditative and alive, though I usually am exhausted after it all.

Sunny and a warm day at our local nursery. I definitely over dressed with my down jacket on, felt hot in sun. I never thought that there was so much to paint at a nursery, it wasn't easy to make a decision. Time passed by quickly, so I painted this one. Still felt stiff both in my brain and my hand after two months not painting out much. Well, it always is good to get started again, right? Then I used an APP to test the result of today's work by adding a frame.