Original Art Stories - Xueling Zou

Changed back time from Daylight Savings. Only one hour different, I felt like jet lag. I was excited on the way to paint at the location, could see some other artists I haven't seen for a long time. After I got there, realized that the park wasn't opened to the public. There was no bathroom open either. It was still quite a warm day, feeling hot in the sun. Locked my bottle of water inside the car, no need to drink any water in this case. Challenging, no one could have predicted what can be happen in advance. Some artists can paint the Marshlands beautifully. I was just focusing on painting loosely, and using a limited color palette. Quickly I found there was not much more could do, which meant it time to stop. Usually I would try to force myself to continue, not today, I was done. A couple of other artists said some complements. I know they try to encourage me, and I was very thankful! Bay National Wildlife Refuge Fremont CA. Changed back time from Daylight Savings...

2020 Day13 Instantly decided to go and paint at Alviso after looking out of window and seeing those dramatic clouds in the early afternoon. I changed my strategy to avoid rush hour traffic. Came for the landscape for sure, but also any unique subject that I couldn't see often I would do it. I discovered a group of mushrooms and did a watercolor sketch. I didn't bring a chair, couldn't sit on the wet ground. You could imagine it wasn't easy to do. It was a beautiful day. We don't usually see clouds, only during our winter rainy season. The wet land looked amazing with the reflection of the clouds in the water. Suddenly, hundreds birds started flying together. Super bright white birds against the mountains with the shadow of the clouds in the background. That precious moment what I saw really took my breath away. Then I parked my car, decided to wait to see the birds flying together again. Did a sketch while I was waiting. What I was waiting for did not happen, ...

A nice day being in nature, my first time painting here. Love the morning fogginess in the distance. Tried many colors to express the fall feeling, but light and reflection changed too fast. Another gorgeous place to which I must return. On the way back I lost track on the road and ended up at a local small store. Spent $2, bought this 1 foot by 3-foot oblong nan bread, might be lavash -- middle eastern bread anyway. It was so yummy, I kept eating it while driving. If my home were further away, I could have finished the whole nan, haha... You could imagine how yummy the bread was , and how starving I was after painting outdoors all day, lol...

It was quite windy. The one I've posted here was the first one I painted at dusk. I tried to loosen up and paint another one, it was the sunset time, I wasn't able to finish. I have been thinking to paint here for so long, finally Robyn and I we made it. Always happy to paint with another artist. (Updating from August 29, 2018)