"Head Study1_ Defiance"

"Defiance"
6"x6", oil on gesso board

Here is "Head Study 1

This is from a model-mugshot. I see the defiance in her expression. I wonder any body could tell who she is.
I realized that there are endless supply of mug shots. It will be interesting to see how my way of painting evolves. I like to get much more bold and expressive.
I am thinking about to focus onto one subject matter. Maybe Head studies...... a small size painting a day, so call, Daily Painting.

So far,I couldn't  post every day.
Often I  take too long to figure out the subject and setting up and lighting.
If I eliminate those prep time to slow me down.....

I  always thought I have to paint from the real setting to do good painting: actual setup for Still life painting, outdoor trip for Pleinair painting, live models for figurative works.....
Recently, I did some head paintings from photograph. It was not that bad as I thought.
I have more fun to do human head than still life. There are emotions and expressions to pull out even from the bad photos.

"Tomato and Knife II"

 "Tomato and Knife II"
7"x5", oil on Canvas board

I am trying to paint with more paint on the brush lately.
It requires a commitment. Instead of layering with thin paints or picking up the the color from here and there on the palette, I have to mix certain amount of paints to be able to load the brush.
It frees me from getting into too much details, giving the life to the painting. Also I like the interesting edges happening naturally.

This the second painting of "Tomato and Knife" for me. Since one is sold through DPW Action recently, I decided do another one.
Definitely, "Tomato and Knife" is DiebenKorn inspired subject.
His tomato paintings are looking like he just slopped down the paints in 5 minutes. But when I examined his paintings, I realized how accurate his observation is and .......his compositions!!
How could I be bold and confident as he is!
He is one of the artist I admire most. I am so amazed by all of his works!!

"Girl with Red Hat"

6"x6", oil on gesso board

NFS

"Stock Plunge"

6"x6", oil on gesso board -NFS

This is the image of a trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on the day of the stock market falling from LA Times on Aug 5.
I thought the diagonals with the expression of the shock in the image works together perfect. It is not my own shot but  I wanted to regenerated into a  painting for the sake of fun and learning.
I painted the  whole surface with red to begin with and kept red showing through to exaggerate the panic.

"Roses in My Mug"

6"x6", oil on gesso board

This week's DPW Challenge is to paint my mug.
I am surrounded by white roses in my neighborhood and I can't stay away from them. So roses in my big blue mug...

Recently, I am searching what I am inclined to paint and how I create the painting from them.
I have been painting under the art direction for 20 years in animation studios since I graduated from ACCD.
I don't have my favorite way of painting.
Each movie has a different artistic style and the artist has to paint what was required.

Now my heart is my art director.
One thing I know about my self is I like to have the spontaneity, some spirit and emotion in my painting. Also I like to go beyond just depicting how they look. 

This painting is available for purchase.
Bid at DPW auction:
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Buy/Auctions
Or buy direct here:

"White Roses"

6"x6", oil on gesso board

This painting is available for purchase.

"Peach Tree"

7"x5", oil on Canvas board
$100

This is a peach tree in my back yard. This tree bears the most delicious peaches.
I share the peaches with birds,squirrels and my neighbors. Sometimes I have to be fast to pick them before birds put the marks on them.
All the peaches are gone now. All leaves!!
I did this painting to enter the DPW Challenge. It has rules of using limited palette (Ultra Blue, Cad Yellow Med (or Lt), Cad Rd Lt and white) and painting time to one hour. It was not easy to get subtle temperature change in Greens since UMB is warm blue.
Well painting time is limited to an hour, I couldn't be fussy much.
Photography didn't help me either to show cooler colors at the bottom part of painting. This is Early summer. Every thing in my garden has fresh greens. This palette might be very good to use for fall season even though we don't have much of fall color in Los Angeles, CA.

"Tomato and knife"

7"x5", oil on Canvas board
SOLD