Original Art Stories - Xueling Zou

My last Plein Air painting in Half Moon Bay was done in July last year.  I remember it was such a cold day.  Today I caught only light traffic and little road work on the way.   It was a gorgeous day, hills turned green, and flowers started blooming after days of rain.  I was looking for the Giusti farm in Half Moon Bay CA without knowing the address.  Luckily, I found it by noticing other artists painting along the High Way #1, only had one extra turn.  There were acres of mustard flowers in the fields and up to the hills. Some were lemon yellow, some already had turned to Indian yellow.  They were more attractive contrasted with the fresh spring green grasses in between.   Usually start with a small sketch, not this time since I was a little bit behind schedule.  I reminded myself that I should focus on the main subject to paint.  It didn't take too long, and I was happy with the result.   Very nice to see some old and new artists painting as well.   (February 8 2023)

Happy Chinese Lunar New Year!恭喜發財! Feb. 10 I knew that I should avoid outdoor activities during this season, especially near flowers, whose strong pollen has beaten me down for years. But it was very beautiful to see all the yellow mustard flowers last week, didn't feel I had painted enough of them. So I went back again, and the weather was gorgeous, besides it being a little windy and chillier than last week. Actually the beauty is in being outdoors, and express the feeling of one's own. One young mother took her baby girl inside the flower fields. She was super polite, came across all the muddy road about 50 meters, and asked me if they would block my view when they having picnic there. Felt warm inside my heart that some people really care what an artist was doing. She just didn't know how tiny they were in the flower fields, I barely noticed them. I was there to be inspired instead of copy anything. I decided to move all the objects around, after a small sketch, painted

Didn't paint outdoors for two weeks, really missed it. Went to Half Moon Bay, it was beautiful and warm. Painted a yellow mustard flower field at the edge of a major noisy road, it was still muddy after days of rain. Many people stopped by taking photos of the gorgeous yellow flowers. After my first painting done, I really wanted to see and paint boats, I missed painting them very much. Over the years, I have taken countless photos of the boats at Johnson Pier, and can't even remember how many times I've painted at this location, many fishing boats I recognize over the years. Looked like the local business was doing OK. Differently, I found a good spot on the deck, and set up my work station. The deck was narrow, I had to keep reminding myself not to backup, only one step and I could fall into the sea. A sea lion swam around nearby me, only about five meters away. Loved all the dramatic clouds, and happy to see all the fishermen selling crabs. Bought one as a rewar