BRINGING WATERCOLORS TO LIFE WORKSHOP

I just recently concluded a workshop at the Vancouver Fine Art Atelier as a guest instructor. I had such a great time teaching at the studio. I was given the creative freedom to come up with a program in my own style and pace.

Color and color mixing is usually very intimidating. The common pitfalls that I was asked was how to avoid getting "mud" when mixing, how to make it more vibrant or less intense, how to darken or lighten and how to know what colors to use that "look good.

In this picture, the student uses a black and white sketch and the display as she lays down her first wash of color.

The apple is slowly coming to life as she carefully adds more layers, describing the shape, texture and curvature of the fruit in space.

The ceramic jug is now completed. A very good question that was asked was: "How do I paint it if it's just white?

A before and after, showing how Nette painted before any instructions were given and how different it looked after some guidance.

It was very fulfilling to have taught and seen how quickly she progressed in such a short time. It only took her 4 Saturdays for her to get to this point.

"The workshop stood out for me because you explained how and why so well, and your open mind - you allowed me to try out my ideas without shooting them down. I really did enjoy our lessons, and the hubby was suitably impressed. Hehe. He said I jumped from kindergarten to high school in the space of a few lessons."

ART ON THE SPOT

The Burnaby Shadbolt Center and the Vancouver Urban Sketchers have collaborated to promote art to the community at the Art on the Spot event within the Shadbolt grounds. It went on for 2 hours and the idea is that the public can approach any Urban Sketcher to hang out and sketch with them!

We each were given a red balloon and some stickers. The red balloons identified us as part of the Urban Sketchers and the stickers are an incentive for children (and children at heart) to stamp on their sketch books. (Photo courtesy of Donna Hagerman.)

This is Ivan (10 yrs) and Shirley (7 yrs) and their mom Judy. After giving stickers (to the kids) I taught them a few of my drawing "secrets". Judy spoke to them in both Mandarin and English. Hearing this, I pulled out my phone and showed Judy a short message written in simplified Chinese that I needed to clarify (not related to the event). So I asked her to "draw" the Chinese characters as if it were for a 3 year old. I got everyone drawing, in one form or another, for that brief moment they were with me. Mission accomplished! (Photo courtesy of Donna Hagerman.)

After the 2 hours were over, all the Urban Sketchers gathered around as we usually do to display our work. I managed to get 2 sketches done that day.  (Photo courtesy of Donna Hagerman.)

The view of the first sketch I did. It's a 3x5 inch study of a house peeking out of the trees. I was told on good authority that this house was designed by our very own Architect Arthur Erickson.

This is an 8x10 inch study a house by a tree. I may explode the two sketches into a bigger watercolor painting in the near future and I can't wait to get that started.

It was a great day for sketching outdoors. I got a couple of kids to draw, met some people and made new
friends. There will be another similar event at the Shadbolt Center in the fall so I'm looking forward to that!

HAFANAPPLE

This is a teacup set I painted for a friend of mine, Veronika, who shared half of her apple (and her home made yoghurt) with me during a Plein Air Painting one morning when I only brought a banana. She is a talented artist who happens to also be the sole proprietor of the Vancouver Atelier. She has been supportive of the work that I do and I thought of giving her a little gift in return.

I thought of a teacup set because she loves to drink tea. I initially thought of getting her an off the shelf one with a cool design but I couldn't find any that would be meaningful enough so I thought of designing my own. I went to Cowboys and Angels on Kerrisdale to pick out the set and I spent a good 2 hours or so to get this looking like half of an apple. The plate is a chocolate chip cookie since she also brought cookies, among other things, for breakfast that morning.

It's always good to stop by the gratitude cafe and say thanks to the kindness and generosity of people who come along your way.

OPUS PLEIN AIR CHALLENGE: HONORABLE MENTION!

This is the first time I participated in the Opus Plein Air Challenge 2015 at the Downtown location. The theme was to "capture the spirit" of the day. It was such a beautiful day and it was also mother's day. So I thought of heading to the park to take advantage of what people are doing and maybe find a way to paint a mom and her kid spending some quality time together.

This is the spot I chose to paint. There weren't a lot of people when I came but as the day went by, more and more people started to trickle in. There were a few other artists who also discovered this gem in the city. I had my earphones on, listening to some acoustic jazz and bossa nova music, totally relaxed and enjoying the moment.

This is the quick sketch I made to study the composition and light in my painting. This didn't take more than 15 minutes as it was only a 3 x 5 inch drawing.

The paintings were secured on a rack during the exhibition and judging.  Mine is 104, the one on the upper left corner. My painting was one of the very few that was displayed on the back of the rack. I had hoped that the judges wouldn't forget that there were other paintings there as well.

I placed Honorable Mention during the awarding ceremony. I am with the manager of the Opus Downtown location and she handed me a GC from Opus. I was not with my mom that day, so I called her up after and the first thing she asked was: Did you win?! haha. I dedicate this painting and small victory to my mom!

If you're interested to see the other fantastic and creative entries here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152989310228353.1073741839.101513073352&type=3

A MOTHER'S LOVE

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom! This was her birthday present when she celebrated her birthday a month ago. It's titled "A Mother's Love". I took separate pictures of flowers from Van Dusen and put it all together in this painting showing a sequence of 3 flowers blooming. The bloom represents her unconditional and everlasting love for my sis, bro and I.

JUST LET IT BE

I had been painting trees and landscapes for the past weeks so this was a good departure from foliage. This is for a friend Ian who has "never" heard of the Beatles before. His home is only a museum of Beatles memorabilia he has been collecting since 1964 and had opened his doors to a dear friend of mine who is also a Beatles fan. I wanted to surprise her with the visit so in return for the favor, I presented this to him to be part of his collection.

PACMAN

Which is stronger, an Oak tree or a blade of grass?" Eventually the Oak will snap like a twig against the storm, but the blade of grass has give, and will remain standing." Despite how the scoring ruled against his favor, Manny remained humble and embraced the outcome graciously. Here's my way of celebrating the person behind the one we all know as the PACMAN. This is one of the bigger pieces I made. 23.5 x 18 inches, graphite on substrate.

DON'T WORRY 'BOUT A THING

"Three little birds right by your doorstep"...I found a reference photo of three birds on a branch on the internet and thought I could add a 4th one to tell a story. I wonder what birds would think of, if an Angry Bird happened to be in front of them. I pulled an all nighter for this piece. It took me about 4-5 hours to complete from initial sketch to final touches.

This was the first color study I did after. Testing colors to see how they would look like together as well as the lights and darks. The background seemed to light for me and the different colored birds just wasn't working.

 This was the second color study. I changed the source of light to come from screen right shining from above and I kept the birds more neutral in color.

A color study I did of just the bird. I wanted to see what a "halo" effect would look like around the bird.

This is the final piece that I scanned and brought into Photoshop to add the text. This was used in a poster to promote a watercolor workshop that I facilitated.

 

JAPANESE FLUTE PLAYER

This was done at a life painting session at the Basic Inquiry Life Drawing Studio and Gallery. Japanese Flute Player Imi Oto graced us with her presence and flute playing as she modeled for 3 hours. I thoroughly enjoyed her mini-concert and seeing the many accoutrements that made up her full attire. One song that stood out was her rendition of Across The Universe by the Beatles..it was the perfect zen moment to be in. She has traveled to many countries playing at wedding receptions and many other social gatherings. Thanks to Alain Maurice Boullard for bringing together music-and-art-in-action all in one space.

Here is Imi and the Japanese flute she played with. I was flattered that she chose and posed with my painting for the picture taking after the entire session was over. 

She carefully and neatly packed her costume. I didn't realize there were a few layers of clothing underneath. It just looked like one kimono from the outside. I was in awe by the intricate design and patterns of the

individual pieces. I sent her a copy of the painting after. hope to one day include this painting in an exhibit!

. 

CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL

 Who would’ve thought of painting rocks for the 2015 Cherry

 Blossom Festival  Plein Air Competition at the VanDusen 

Botanical Garden?  It was my first ever competition and I placed 3rd!

 I also finally got to meet BC's very own Plen Air Watercolor Artist

 Alfonso L. Tejada who was full of energy and larger than life.

 I was so glad the sun came out when forecast said it wouldn't. 

The spot I chose was secluded except for 2 ducks that kept 

me company. I would've painted them in if I had the time, but

 maybe next time when they have their own festival. I did get to

 meet a lot of people who came by to say hi while I painted.

 They were very encouraging and enthusiastic which helps when

 painting in public.

 Almost finished. This picture reminds me of two people I had met that 
day. A father (and daughter) that came back  again  to see how I was 
progressing. He was very kind  and cheered me on. They both stayed 
until the very end of the competition after which he personally congra-
tulated me. A Russian boy, Ivan, came up to me as well. I noticed him 

sitting on a bench behind me for quite some time. He later on told me 
that he had done some Plein Air painting in school back in Moscow 
and felt  intimidated when people approached him which is  why he 
kept his distance and only came closer when I was done.

Signed, framed and hung. 

I call this Cherry Blossoms In the Air. 

The sound of trickling streams of water was enough to stop 
me in my tracks. There was no thinking twice when i saw 
the light and shadows that played on the rocks and foliage. 
The 3.5 hours flew by too quickly and as the painting was 
coming to an end, i decided to commemorate the festival 
by giving the viewer a little surprise at the top of the waterfall. 

Cherry Blossom flowers floating in the light:

Follow them and you will find Spring in Vancouver.