Original Art Stories - Xueling Zou

It is such a beautiful home and garden to visit. We came often whenever we passed by. Hadn't visited it for a long time, probably since pandemic. I always wanted to paint here too, though it was challenging, no matter how much I love plants, my reaction to pollen can bother me for days. Never mind, I told myself that I had to go. Surprisingly, there was no parking left in the morning, so I parked my car in the street. And saw many volunteers working in the garden. Most of they looked like seniors. It was not easy to find a subject to paint. So much variety, encompassing herb & rose gardens, a historic home, a carriage house & a tearoom... I walked around it twice, almost decided to paint the tearoom, because it was my first time seeing the door open, but I was fascinated by the gorgeous lotus glowing leaves in the water fountain under the morning sunlight. Immediately, I set up my workstation and started to draw. A small bird accompanied me less than ten feet away while I

"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared." - Buddha (Please click the image to enlarge) This true story really touches me, so I'v decided to share it with the people who create art or love art. Photography is not my main purpose, being an independent artist I've taken many photos for my painting references everywhere I go for owning the copyrights. This was one of photos I took at a temple in San Francisco a couple years ago. Lights are Yang energy in FengShui. I thought it was positive, auspicious, and posted it on my website to share. Two month ago, I received a message from a friend on Facebook: "Hi Xueling, I need some professional advice. Here is the story, My sweet daughter, Alyssa Tabit, lives in LA. Last October she went with her boyfriend to Ohio for a wedding. We received a devastating call on the morning of October 7th. Our daughter