Original Art Stories - Xueling Zou

It seems that the rainy season is over.  The spring blosomes are beatiful but my allergies are back.  Carefully I started painting outdoors.  The campus of Santa Clara University looked gorgeous, painting the the old mission Adobe wall was on my mind. I guessed that the students and professers were in classes.  Quietly, I found a shady spot to set up my gear.  Started with a thumbnail for a black and white study, than proceeded to my work. Once in a while people passed by.  Roughly finished the painting, I will be back again soon. (April 18 2024)

Nice weather in the afternoon, I wanted to do something different and escape from my current "bottleneck" situation. But I realized half way to the location that I didn't bring my tripod. Lucky it was not far away to go back and get it. All the students were on school vacation, so it was perfect timing to paint on the campus.  And the winter lighting is always especially beautiful. Found a corner of the garden and noticed that one side looked more complicated than the other one.  I chose the easier side to paint, and focused on a monochromatic expression to see what could make it look different.  In the end I added a small amount of color to certain objects, my work really looked different.   I decided to stop, but might continue this way of practicing... Started the new year without any resolutions, but frustration that I won't able have my home studio time undisturbed, I can not get 30 minutes of meditation time in. No one is perfect for sure. Who likes having argum

My third time coming to paint this Gothic Revival style church.  Once I painted it in the late afternoon.  Today I painted in the morning. There was a red SUV parked in front, but I had no idea when it had been switched to a white one. It was not a quite an intersection, cars and people were passing by, some of them on the bikes or other kinds of transports. I noticed that there was guy cleaning the front of the church, so I painted him into my work. (October 16 2023)

I didn't go out painting last week, because of the dog day week. There were several painting location ideas in my mind this morning, so I drove the car to check out some locations. Non of them worked, might be the gray morning. So, I set my work station up in front of the catholic church so I could paint the old adobe building.  Spent a long time drawing.  I saw a guy was standing in front of the campus wall.  He stood there for a long time, I was able to draw him into my work. I always could get inspired by the beautiful campus at Santa Clara university. There was a construction nearby, I could hear the loud noise. A lady carried a child walked by asking me for directions, felt bad that I could not help. Later a Mexican gardening guy came blowing leaves by the church. He was kind and tried to avoid the area where I was painting. Took much longer to finish and it was getting hot around noon. (September 12 2022)

My first time coming to this part of the Pacifica. Planned to paint at San Pedro Valley County Park. Drove on Skyline Blvd, The landscape was half hiding in the foggy misty, and the part of it showing through. I really wanted to stop my car and paint excitedly what was in from of my eyes.  Arrived at the park, I realized that the mountains and trees were just too close to me, how I could manage to paint them? On the way I had noticed a church that was appealing too. There were several deer in the parking lot, nice watching them eat their breakfast. It was quiet ni the parking lot while I was painting. Didn't finish the painting, needed more value.  But it was just another practice work. Went to see 50/50 art show at Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica.  Many inspiring and creative works there.  

Planned to join an online drawing with other artists. Rushed and got everything ready this morning, then found out it was already over. Hadn't painted outdoors for ten days, really missed it. Sunny day today, so came back to paint this unique architecture in a residential neighborhood. Overdressed, it was still feeling warm in the sun. Started with a little sketch study. Looked at the surroundings and stood cross the church, I felt fascinating by so many things hanging in the air and stuff on the ground; I never paid attention each time passing by. The longer I drew, the more things I discovered. Every object looked more interesting under the winter sun, because of the contrast between light and longer shadows I guessed. It was getting busier around noon. Spending almost an hour to finish the basic drawing. Even I knew that I shouldn't add too many details into my Plein Air works, but they were the parts of the local life, maybe the reason they attracted my attention. Brought p

Dec. 10 I was excited to receive my orders from China - a new set for outdoor painting which I waited almost two months for. Went to paint this church, a gothic revival structure built in 1904. The winter afternoon light made it look so unique and interesting. The new painting set is much lighter in weight, but I have to get used working on two levels to paint. It is supposed to have more space, but felt like not enough space for keeping my stuff handy. The sun set before five pm - too early, so I only had a chance to lay down the first layers of color before I had to wrap up and leave. I checked my work through my smart phone's black/white photo feature and surprisingly the contrasts worked well. By the time I got home, it was already dark. The next morning, I resumed work on the painting, adding more details and darkening certain areas. Really liked working on solid, stable table to draw the light posts and lines better. After the painting was finished, I realized that I didn'

Sister Wendy Beckett (born 25 February 1930) is a Catholic nun, who was born in South Africa and educated in Oxford where she was awarded a first class degree in English literature. She has lived a life of solitude for almost thirty years on the grounds of a monastery in England. I never knew about Sister Wendy until I started painting in 2001. Our local library carries a very decent amount of books and DVDs. So, I go there and check them out often, I have found many art resources. I did not pay too much attention to the stories behind each masterpiece before. I was more interested in learning the composition or techniques, etc. One day, I saw Sister Wendy on a cover of a DVD in the art section and just out of curiosity I brought it back home to watch. That was the most remarkable experience I had ever had. I was totally moved by her eloquence and charm, her profound spirit, her passion in art, her rich knowledge and outstanding description of sharing her views on each masterpiece

Knocking on Heaven's Door I saw this nun walking against the beautiful ruined wall the day I just arrived Antigua, Guatemala in February 2010. So, I followed her in the street and took 2 photos. I painted it after I came back my stedio. The title was inspired by one of the most famous song of Bob Dylan's. Because the way she knocked was very mysterious. Confess...  This is the story of how I was inspired to paint "Confess..." When visiting the extraordinary ruins at Qoricancha (Golden Temple) in Cusco Peru, I followed a guy entering a huge gate into a quiet area, I found myself in the beautiful baroque church of Santa Domingo (I found out later). First I saw a statue of the praying Virgin Mary, illuminated and radiant in front of the alter; second, I turned around and saw many golden arches with painted angels near the ceiling. At the same time I realized that a few workers were doing minor construction. Third, I heard a loud voice in Spanish I couldn't un