Good quote

"Joy does not come from what you do; it flows into what you do and thus into this world from deep within you." by Eckhart Tolle

I just found this quote today, and I feel it really describes how I feel about my art and music.

Art Class - Week 7 Monday

I've just about finished going over all the pencil lines with paint, and started blocking in some of the shadows. Teacher liked what I did so far. He reminded me to visit the Art Gallery in Whittier and to bring my paintings. I helped Carmen with her painting again. She is doing a very good job and the painting is developing very nicely. We stayed until almost 4pm. Teacher is only here on Mondays now.

Angel update

 

I've started painting the outline of the angel. I hope her face doesn't change too much from the original pencil sketch as I go along. That's always been a problem for me.

New angel picture for art class

 

Here's what I have so far for my new picture (pencil sketch on the right). I took this picture at night, so it's not very clear. The picture on the left is the Angel Musician by Pinta. As you can see, I've made some adjustments to the head and the face. I've changed the position of her gaze and changed her looks as well. I've also made the limbs a bit more feminine. The hardest part was the perspective angle of this picture. It took me quite a while just to get the violin to look somewhat alright. I've not acheived the exact angle as the original picture, unfortunately. It was actually the violin and the colors of this picture that caught my eye when I was deciding what to paint next.

Looks like I have a bit more sketching and adjustments to make before I start painting it.

Canvas on sale

Went to Michael's with Mommy and Delko. Teacher Fred told us there's a sale on 16"x20" canvases. 2 for $6. We bought the canvases, some acrylic paints, and brushes. Also bought some Loew-Cornell shanding and liner brushes. They were 50% off. Not a bad deal! The only bad thing was the service at Michael's. Not a friendly bunch I'm afraid.

Art Class - Week 5 Tuesday

Only Pat, Carmen, and an elderly gentleman were in class today. Mommy and Delko went to a buffet with their Tai Chi class, so I'm on my own. I brought my angel sketch on canvas to work on. But I didn't get much done today. Helped Carmen a bit with her picture, and chatted with Pat while I watched her paint. David arrived about half hour before I planned to leave. He's going to paint a picture of the 60 freeway. I like the canvas he was using. It had a thicker edge and it's 15" square. I'm not sure about the square shape, whether it would fit the type of painting I planned to do. But I like the thicker edge. He told me where to get it. The store is in Orange County. Hmmm.... That's far for me.

Art Class - Week 5 Monday

Mom made some chicken salad sandwiches for our art class today. We're celebrating a few people's birthdays, and people brought food and a cake. I had some chips with salsa and a small sandwich. That was fun. I tried to finish up my painting today, and I've been painting an hour or so last night. But I still can't finish! There's so much details to put in, and more highlights needed for Frida's turban. But I'm just about done with the picture. Teacher picked up the transparent oil paints for me. 9 bottles at $1.50 each. I can't wait to try them! Teacher is so nice! I also bought another canvas so I can start a new picture today. I decided to paint an angel with a violin like the one done by Pinta. She's in some weird position and we looking upwards to her face. I can tell this is going to be tough to sketch, but I'm going to challenge myself to do it anyway.

Art Class - Week 4 Tuesday

I'm still working on Frida's blouse today. Teacher told me I need to spray the picture when I'm done. He said it was very good. Many people are painting landscapes. Many Thomas Kincaid types of scenes. I still don't know what my next picture will be. But I certainly want to try a landscape picture before the end of this year! Teacher announced today that our Summer sessions has been cut by the city. Art class will resume in the Fall. However, he said he will continue to come in on Mondays on a volunteer basis so our art class can continue. What a fantastic teacher Fred is! Everyone was so disappointed when we heard we were getting cut. And then Pat said she will come in on Tuesday, and anyone is welcome to join her. So, I'm happy! 2 days of art again!

Art Class - Week 4 Monday

I've applied the base for the blouse and added some shadows and hightlights yesterday. Today, while in class, I did more shadings and not much else. I walked around the class to see everyone's work. And then stopped to help Carmen a bit with her picture. Fred was pleased with my picture and told me I should have him spray it once I'm done. Quite a few people stopped by to look at my Frida picture. They were very complimentary and encouraging to me. David brought a few pieces of his art work to show us. Apparently, he painted on cabinet doors. Very clever idea! His paintings went very well on the panels and overall effect is great. Richard was working on a unique picture. He said he painted over an old cavas. It's a women's face with lots of interesting things on her head. I love the brilliant and fun colors he used.

Art Class - Week 3 Tuesday

I was able to switch erhu lessons to Thursday once again, so I can make it to the Tuesday art class. I really enjoy coming to art class! Today I worked more on Frida's reboso (shawl). It's slowly coming along. I used some white for highlighting it at first, but it had a muddy look. So I repainted the red and started over. Fred (teacher) is airbrushing a beautiful Da Vinci painting. Later, he showed me how to use the airbrush and let me have a go at it. I am overjoyed to learn something new. Air brushing is great fun!

Well, I am truly humbled in the presence of all these artists! And I am so appreciative of teacher who is so encouraging and motivating. He told me to bring it to his friend's gallery, and that's where his works are also displayed, and bring my picture to show the owner. I think it will be great to get some feedback from the gallery, but, I'm not planning sell this painting since this is my first one. Richard made this fantastic desert painting yesterday. I'm so glad he brought it again today so I can see it and also take a picture of him with his painting. Wonderful bright colors! I love it. Here's Carmen, working on her architectural painting. Looking good! More students working on their paintings. Nellie is painting her daughter. What a lovely composition! And I love the red. Gus has airbrushed the car and the background, and now, adding the details. I can't wait to see the finished work. This is a wonderful place! I love seeing how each artist's painting evolves from the initial pencil sketch.

Art Class - Week 3 Monday

This is my 3rd time coming to art class. I love it here! There are so many talented artists, and everyone is so encouraging and friendly, and we have a really great teacher, Fred.

Today, I tried a translucent oil paint that is water soluble. I used that for shading the reboso, and it worked really well! I'm very pleased with the effects.

Mommy has started on her 3rd canvas. She's painting a Chinese lady playing the bamboo flute.

Delko is still working on her mini landscape. I think it's very good for her first painting!

Art Class - Week 2 - Frida Kahlo

I've painting my picture this past week, mostly on the face. I had to make some drastic adjustments to the positioning of her right eye. Now she looks more like Frida on the photo. I had to reschedule my erhu lesson to Thursday to come to class today. I took another student's spot since she is on vacation. Teacher said he may not have a spot for me to switch my time to when his student returns. I hope he can find an alternate time for me eventually since I really want to go to art class both Monday and Tuesday.

Art Class - Week 1

Last week, my mom joined an art class at the local senior center. She came home all excited with her first painting. It was a desert scene, done in acrylics. Not bad at all for a first painting. She said teacher helped her with the pencil sketch and she painted it herself. Apparently, this class is not limited to seniors only. Needless to say, I wanted to check it out. And that's what I did today! Delko came with us too. The teacher's name is Fred Alvarado, and the class had about a dozen people today. As I walked in, I can see people painting on their canvases. There wasn't a particular theme or anything. Everyone was just doing their own thing. After signing up for the class, teacher told me to get a canvas and bring it to him so he can sketch a desert scene for me. I told him I didn't want to do the same thing as my mom and if I can sketch something else myself. He asked me what I wanted to sketch, and I told him I had no idea, and if he could suggest something. Well, he handed me a stack of pictures and told me to look through that for ideas. I showed the pictures to Delko and we were trying to decide what to pick. I told Delko that I shouldn't be too ambitious and pick something too hard since this is my first painting in class. Fred, who was helping another student, overheard me and without turning around, he said, "No, be ambitious!" I was surprised, but I said ok. Finally I found the picture I'm going to use. It's a photo of Frida Kahlo. When teacher saw it, he said, wow, that's ambitious! By the end of class, I almost finished my sketch. Teacher seemed very surprise when he saw it. He said it was beautiful and held it up for the class to see. He said, "I didn't help her with the sketch, she did it herself." I'm just relieved it was alright. It's not exactly like Frida in the photo, so I will probably be tweaking it as I'm painting. Teacher said I have to help him with the sketching for the other students from now on. We'll see how that goes! After all, I'm there to learn. I'm simply overjoyed to be in an art class. There are many talented people, but most importantly, you can see they love painting. I can't wait to go again next time. It will have to be 2 weeks from now since they're closed on Memorial Day.