Original Art Stories - Xueling Zou

Painted Plein Air for the first time in a while, I really missed it. Today I went to Carmelite Monastery Santa Clara CA to paint this church building, which has been on my mind for a long time. It was a peaceful place, only saw a few people, including a nun who walked into the church from the side door. Drawing the architecture took me for a while, then painted the clouds with care. Because we don't usually have clouds besides during winter. Not much light and contrast. Then spent a lot of time for the details on the building. After that I realized that the details were too small and there wasn't any reason to include them in my Plein air work. Church bell rang twice during the time I painted there, it brought a lot peace. Hope it expends to the whole world....

Studio paintings has taken too much time of mine, I really have to do more Plein Air work.  Nice out and painted with a couple my art friends.  I instantly found this spot to paint the boat.  Later I had noticed that there were two young guys working on the boat, started to worried if the boat could be moved away.  The subject was a little bit complicated, and I simplefied them. So glad that the boat was not moved away after my work was done.  Had to leave the other two artists behind.  (April 1 2022)

After about a year, I went to Shoreline Park to paint again. It was a lovely day, and not warm, I had to have my down jacket on when I was painting. Surrounded by squirrels, geese and other birds, they were all very active. I discovered that I used wrong side of the watercolor paper at the end, guess I was distracted by all the animals' actions.  (March 19 2022)

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

There are many beautiful portraits that have visually showed us the subject's personality, history and culture.  I think facial expression is another very interesting subject in art.  That is why I love to study it.  I do it differently than some artists who just copying a photo.  I'd rather to know a little bit more about my subject before I start painting.  Here are some some portraits I painted and the stories behind them.  Please visit my online gallery at:  http://xueling-zou.artistwebsites.com/galleries.html to see more. Lady from Bangladesh was the portrait I painted in March 2011. We used to be neighbors for a short while. Her name is Tahmina. She was the mother of three very nice and well-educated boys, with such a sweet character. One early morning, I saw her dressed this lovely traditional pink/magenta sari in the garden, the morning light went through her veil, shining on her face... I went back and grabbed my camera immediately and took a couple of photos. Aft

Summer almost has gone. May be it is over already in some other states, but I live in California, and still can enjoy it a little longer - "Indian Summer". I created a series call "Summer Delight" by expressing how a joyful female feels in French impressionist style, mostly using palette knife. They are all smaller size 20" x 16" ( about 40cm x 50cm ). Hope my viewers like them as much as I enjoyed painting each one of those... They really are delightful expressions, imaging what the result could be if they hang up on your wall, bringing happiness and joy to your daily life:)!

Dog and horse are the natural animals to get along with humans! They can remember people even after long separations. They have their own emotional expressions. As a visual artist, I think it is very important to capture their emotion and personal expression, just like when I do the portraits for humans, it doesn't matter which style I use in painting, but the communication is the key for success in painting portraits, I believe! They are loyal, sweet, really your most trustworthy friends. They can understand words better than expected, according to the research, and possess "excellent memories" too! They never leave you, no matter if you are happy or upset, poor or rich, they are always next to you. Just thinking of them, thinking about their best qualities of their personalities, it makes me want to paint them. Hope my paintings can really bring each viewer that kind of happiness:-)! ​Or join me at: FaceBook , Instagram , Twitter , Pinterest

What a great inspiration! Unknown in advance, I had seen the Pacific Voyagers and seven boats at Monterey Bay, California! August 13, 2011, late afternoon sun shone on the weekend Monterey beach. I saw some unusual boats, actually ancient looking boats, mostly like the boats made by Maori people from New Zealand, anchored to the beach in the bay. I was so attracted by the beauty of those boats, and a couple of handsome sailors paddling people back and forth from the beach to the boats. I didn't want to miss this good opportunity, and started shooting... A local lady chatted with me that these were Pacific Voyagers - a group of Pacific Islanders from Aotearoa (New Zealand), Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Vanuatu, and Tonga. They started in April of this year, passing the Marquesas, and Hawaii on their journey. Also she said that I missed seeing the landing, which was a traditional American Indian ceremony for welcom

I remember that my father took me to the Beijing Zoo when I was about five one Sunday morning. There were about 20 peacocks that lived on a bird island with a hundred other birds, like crays, swans, ducks, etc... When we arrived, there were some parents with their children watching birds - especially the peacocks. I was told that the peacocks might open up their feathers when they saw pretty colors. Some parents would dress up their children with colorful clothes, but I only wore in my father's favorite color, sky blue. We both mentioned the same white peacock was our favorite. It seemed that white peacock heard us and turned around facing me, then opened up its feathers immediately. A lot of people clapped their hands for what they saw - the most glorious shining feathers opening up against the morning sunlight - like a Chinese fan. Of course to me as a little girl, it was the most beautiful and precious moment to experience joy with my father when he big and strong hand was holdi