Original Art Stories - Xueling Zou

Rainy season is over, and I should catch up on outdoor painting. Downtown Cambell is one of my favorite places to do Plein Air, at lease I painted here or nearby about ten times so far. Painted with a group of local artists, I took the spot I painted several years ago at the beginning of my oil Plein Air. Sat on a bench in front of Starbucks, I didn't do a small sketch this time. Also I was able to see my car, which was parked in a two-hour parking zone, in case I couldn't finish my work on time. I would have to move my car. Weather suddenly got warm, felt like it went from winter tempretures to summer overnight. It was a good exercise for outdoor painting. (April 22 2024)

Redwood City Port seems like a perfect location for practicing painting on a windy day. A year ago I painted at the location a couple of times. It was windy in the afternoon. I found a short tree to paint under to block a little wind. Took me almost an hour to finish the drawing. I tried to paint the kayak, but it was removed from the people working there. Lucky I had my reference photo. Not sure why I love painting fishing boats Later the owner of the boat next to it came to me, he took a photo and wanted me to paint his boat someday... Rushed to the drawing class...(July 26 2022) I have to get ready for the Annual Alameda Plein Air event, so I drove to the Campbell Community Center to practice, but I didn't know what to paint. Walked around and saw the Campbell Pool, then I knew it would be a good subject to practice. Found a corner and set up my stuff. For the composition purposes, I had to "move" and "reset" several little details. It wasn't a

Three of us artists decided to paint outdoors together.  Followed Google maps, directed me to the Campbell Library, but there wasn't anyone there.  Called the other friends and found out that Google map was incorrect.  So we were behind schedule a little bit.   I saw a guy playing his guitar in front of a coffee shop, asked if he wanted to be our model.  One of us painted him.  Crossed the street to paint the people in front of the coffee shop, including the guy and one of the artists friends, also I could be in shade. I painted in watercolor, the other two painted in oils.  It was a lovely day hanging out, then went to the other artist's studio to check out her work, chatting, eating, learning,  fun afternoon....

Decided to paint the downtown cityscape, went to and painted at the same spot where I painted when I just started Plein Air. Could not find the original image from back then.  Today was a little chilly, but felt warm in sun. I saw a lot of people in the street and some stopped by and gave me more compliments for my painting then I expecting, might be during the holiday season... Good exercise.  It was the first one I did outdoors this month, hopefully it isn't the last one of this year, but it will rain next week. (December 17 2021)

On this special day, I'd love share my story how I started painting African American portraits, because some viewers are always curious about what inspires me to paint them. I was told by many that the colors I painted were warm and soft, and the facial expressions were so well captured. I was asked why I kept painting them instead of others, or if I had a secret reason to do so... A lot of very interesting questions... First  I don't think that each artist has to have a hidden reason for painting.  I haven't been professionally trained in a real art school.  Painting Asian faces is challenging to me. I don't live in a neighborhood full of African Americans, but I enjoy their music and culture.  Their face expression can tell a story to a visual artist from China like me. One of my favorite novels is "Gone with the Wind".  I read it many times in Chinese, and watched the movie countless times.  In June 2007, I visited Atlanta, Georgia.  Of course the first

This series of African American portraits I painted is based on the portraits I captured at the Art & Soul Festivals in Oakland, CA since 2009. There were a few I did after visiting New York as well. I really enjoy studying African American face expression. Please let the people know if you recognize a familiar face, it might be you, your friend or family member. Thank you. Hope you will like my portrait art.

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

“What i like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”   ― Karl Lagerfeld As much as I enjoy painting, photography is one of my favorite things to do.  Not because I have to collect enough images for my original art, also I think digital media gives us more creative space, with such a wide range of tools available for self-expression, we should update our skills, and be creative as much as possible.  So get your camera ready. During shopping time, I carry my camera sometimes too.  I asked this young lady if I could capture a photo of this cute puppy Chihuahua in her hand, of course she was happy and I was able to keep this lovely photo. (Please click the image to enlarge) I was looking for a laundromat when I traveled in Mexico.  These two dogs suddenly were running in front me.  I captured their adventure by holding my camera with one hand, the other hand was still carrying my dirty laundry... (Please click the ima

San Francisco is an international landmark city which has its own charms attracting visitors from all over the world. It is only about 40 miles from Silicon Valley where I live to the city - about a 45 minutes drive without traffic. There are not enough train lines here like on the east coast, so, most of us have to consider about the highway traffic. This is the main reason that the life style in Silicon Valley has totally changed me. Living in the valley for over 11 years now, I have been to San Francisco countable times. Each visit, I felt that I never had enough fun, though the weather was never predictable. There are many houses - like painted ladies and skyscrapers; there are many advertisements, signs going up and down, following the hills. I love to visit museums, MOMA, De Young, Legion of Honor, Asian Art, even the California Academy of Sciences. I enjoyed the shows in the Opera House, all kinds of delicious food, a rich variety of restaurant choices. Walking around Lombar

We traveled from Antigua, Lake Atitlan, Chichicastenango, Xela, Coban, Flores, Tikal, Rio Dulce, and Livingston for 14 days in Guatemala last year, because the airline ticket was on sale. We did not even have more than 10 words in Spanish, and you can imagine it was not an easy trip especially during the low season. Guatemala really is a beautiful country! Unfortunately, what we saw was how hard the people have been working since they were still very young. Making a living is very tough for most families. Everywhere we went, the local kids surrounded me and called me "China, China,..." in Spanish! I wish I was able to understand a little bit more about what they tried to say. They were so friendly to me, and very deeply touched my heart...Like most of Chinese, I am not afraid eating and trying all kinds of food. Because we faced a lot of stresses with language barrier, all the bus connections, which were never on schedule and our traveler's checks did not work or