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. ...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2024/04/plein-air-downtown-campbell-ca.html

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 ...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2024/04/plein-air-old-mission-adobe-wall-santa.html

We had a young girl sitter today who was wearing a red dress. She sat on a piece of greenish color cloth. I liked it, because I finally got to use some "left over" colors, expecially Veridian G...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2024/04/live-study-of-young-model-in-red-dress.html

It was a rainy Saturday this Easter weekend.  I went to an evening live model session at Lynn's studio by chance that I found through Instagram, also it was very close where I live.   ...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2024/04/a-female-models-first-sitting.html

I thought I would paint a head portrait, but instead did a figurative study again on a used 16"x20" panel. Had to work on his legs more. Continued using my leftover Veridian Green.  Anyway th...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2024/04/six-hours-study-with-same-sitter.html

A good model can inspire an artist to be creative and productive. Studying from a live model is always challenging. We were lucky to have very profession model Zoe being our sitter for two...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2024/03/portrait-and-figurative-painting-of.html

Sun came out after weeks of rain.  I went to one of my favorite spots to Plein Air, Chris' Farm in Campbell.  Painted at the same location several times already, but I went there in the...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2024/02/plein-air-chris-farm-in-campbell-ca.html

It was not a warm morning, but the rain finally stopped. My husband drove me to the location, then he visited a friend who lived nearby. My first time coming here to paint.  Peaceful mo...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2024/02/plein-air-ed-levin-county-park-milpitas.html

Thought to do something different, Apple Park was a good place for sketching and not far from where I live. and some of our local artists were meeting up there today.  Sun came out this...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2024/01/sketching-apple-park-cupertino-ca.html

It was not a warm morning at the location. I got to one of my favorite painting spots and decided to paint again at this location. Couldn't remember how many times I've painted there be...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2024/01/plein-air-alviso-marina-county-park-san.html

I went back to the studio working on live model study again after a long break. It felt challenging, especially the short poses. I couldn't finish one nude whole body sketch in two minutes....

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2024/01/back-to-studio-live-model-study-again.html

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. Luc...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2024/01/plein-air-santa-clara-university-santa.html

Raining season finally has come.  It was the challenging part of Plein Air. Rained over night, a little unpredictable during daytime, not easy for painting outdoors. My husband pointed...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2023/12/plein-air-home-on-rainy-day-ca.html

Good news to share for the coming up holidays, my figurative oil painting "Diary of Venus" won the 1st place in oil, juried by Pancho Jimenez at Great Bay Area Open (GBAO) "Potentiality/Actual...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2023/12/plein-air-orchard-heritage-park.html

Laurie Hill, the organizer of Capitola Plein Air Evert, gave me a personal orientation before I started.  Weather was perfect, I was in a rush and felt excited to start working, but forgot...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2023/11/capitola-plein-air-8th-annual-art.html

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 ...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2023/10/plein-air-elim-assembly-of-god-church_19.html

Planned to Plein Air in the morning, but there were some household things that interrupted that plan . It was about 4pm when I set up to paint at the Downtown Campbell Light Rail Station,  ...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2023/10/plein-air-downtown-campbell-light-rail.html

I didn't plan where to paint today until driving down the road, I thought it should not be more than 10 miles driving, but I missed the turn and had to u-turn a couple of times. I decided to ...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2023/10/plein-air-mission-san-jose-fremont-ca.html

Recently I discovered this beautiful park in Niles. So I planned to paint there until sunset. Gorgeous fall afternoon, but I hit intolerable traffic on the way even though I thought that it ...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2023/09/pleinair-niles-community-park-fremont-ca.html

I thought I wanted to paint the church. Then I changed my mind after I saw the light and shadows on this building were so interesting. Found a shady spot under a tree off the street, set u...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2023/09/pleinair-near-st-clare-parish-santa.html

My first time painting at this location.  A hot day, arrived a little early, but I realized that there wasn't any easy subject for me to paint. Did not want to waste the trip, so I drag...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2023/08/plein-air-almaden-lake-park-sanjose-ca.html

I have been there a couple times before, but it was my first time painting at the location.  A gray day, drove on the winding highway 17 for about an hour, met up with several other art...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2023/08/plein-air-natural-bridges-state-beach.html

We always have an "Indian Summer" and it has been hot days for weeks. I decided to go to the Port because there was a subject I wanted to paint at the same spot, but from a different angle. ...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2023/08/plein-air-redwood-city-marina-san-mateo.html

Nice morning, but it was grey and hot on location. It was my second time coming here to paint the Hayes Mansion.  It is a historic location but now it is Hilton Hotel. I found a spot on the p...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2023/08/plein-air-edenvale-gardens-regional.html

It was a nice day, and I painted with local artists at the location. I set up my workstation near a cabin where a summer camp employee was watching over the lake to keep the boaters safe...

https://originalartstories.blogspot.com/2023/07/plein-air-shoreline-lake-boathouse.html