Painting is about storytelling and an emotional connection with my audience. A painting is not just a pretty rendition of an epic landscape, a quiet still life or a powerful portrait. It is important for me to know what inspires me about a particular subject and what kind of connection I want to establish before I start the painting process. Once that vision is established, the next step is the simplification process. I narrow down the composition using three simple values (dark, medium and light) and shapes in various sizes (big, medium and small) to generate different thumbnails or value studies to explore composition arrangements. This experimental stage usually takes about 10 to 20 minutes, but it is one of the most crucial parts of the painting process. The value study will be used as a guide or a roadmap for about 70 percent of my painting. 

I believe the style of an artist should evolve naturally and the artist be true and honest with their work. My style evolved from the many influences and experiences in my life. In my early years growing up in China, I developed an affinity for nature; my love of mountains, water, trees and landscapes can be seen in all of my works. My exposure to traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy during those years also had a big impact on my style. After immigrating to America, I was introduced to the western art world in high school, college and endless trips to the art museums in New York. I am fascinated by the effects of light and shadow. It always amazes me how light can instantly change the mood and play an important role in any given scene. I try to capture and incorporate that magic in all of my works. I was particularly drawn to the way light was conveyed in the works of the California impressionists, John Singer Sargent, Joaquin Sorolla, Winslow Homer and many modern contemporary artists. My experience working at The Walt Disney Feature Animation Studios has also played a very important role in my style of painting which can be described as impressionistic realism with a touch of Chinese calligraphy. 

I use a combination of traditional Chinese calligraphy brushes and a variety of western watercolor brushes. The combination yields fluid and spontaneous brushstrokes that resemble the kind of look that you can find in Chinese paintings and calligraphy. I prefer to use traditional western watercolor paper because the heavier paper stock can withstand scratching from a palette knife, lifting and other heavy handed watercolor techniques. The rice paper used for Chinese calligraphy is too thin and fragile for my methods. In this demo, I will be covering traditional watercolor techniques such as, wet-on-wet, scratching with a palette knife, lifting as well as creating the calligraphic look using Chinese calligraphy brushes. 

My most important goal is to create paintings that move, resonate and establish emotional connections with my viewers. It is vital to not overload my painting with details in an attempt to spoon feed the audience. It is much better to suggest and trust that my audience is imaginative and creative enough to “complete” the painting in their mind. I think this is one of the ways to create that emotional connection with the audience.  

My Design and Composition Tactics

• Keep a clear vision on what you want to say.
• Focus on the arrangement of shapes (big, medium and small).
• Simplification (three values system: dark, medium and light).
• Value is more important than color.
• Details should be addressed at the very last touch up phase. 

My Art in the Making A Beautiful Day at the Beach

Reference Photos

Salt Creek Recreation Area is where I took the reference photos. It’s located about 15 miles west of Port Angeles, Washington. The scenery around the area is breathtaking. I was first introduced to Salt Creek Recreation Area during a plein air competition a few years ago and painted at this location many times. The reference photos were taken during low tide, around noon time. The color is not as dramatic compared to the sunset, but I was drawn to the contrast of the cool light and the warmth of the foreground elements. The people on the beach and the reflections gave this scene a sense of scale and serenity. 

Stage 1  Value Study

I started the painting process by doing a few value sketches to find the right composition. In my opinion, this is often the most creative and important part of the painting because taking a few minutes to work out the structure of the painting will eliminate a lot of headache down the road and provide a clear direction as you start the painting process.

Stage 2  Drawing

I don’t usually spend too much time drawing out my composition before painting for a couple of reasons. The first is that I don’t want to be constrained by a tight drawing. The second is that I just want the drawing to help me with the placement of the major shapes in my composition. If the big shapes are in the right place, the smaller shapes will fit into the larger shapes. 

Stage 3   First Wash

I like to work from light to dark because it’s much easier to darken an area than the other way around in watercolor. I combined the sky and the water in one single and slightly graduated wash. There’s also a small color shift (from a cooler to a warmer blue in the sky) in this wash. 

Stage 4   Main Subject

I want this area to be a colorful and exciting part of the composition. This wash was laid down at a pretty fast pace because I wanted the colors to mingle with each other (wet-on-wet watercolor technique) and the calligraphic brushstrokes require a confident and decisive mindset. 

Stage 5  Continuing the Main Subject

Working my way down, I continue with the same mindset for the shadow and reflection. I was constantly relying on the value study to keep me focused on the big picture and not get caught up in small details. 

Stage 6  Scraping with a Palette Knife for Details

At this stage, some areas are beginning to dry so the light parts of the rock formation, shrubbery and trees are ready to be scraped out with a palette knife. It’s important to get the timing correct for the scratching process to work properly. If you start to scrape too early when the wash is still too wet, the scratch marks will get dark and if the wash has dried, you can’t scrape at all. I think this process works the best when the wash is about 80 to 90 percent dry. 

Stage 7  Final Touch

This stage is usually the most time consuming part of the painting process. The idea is that if I follow my initial study, it should yield a pretty satisfying block in painting. It’s important to keep the spirit of the piece and appreciate the happy accidents. When I start the final touch up stage, I think of the following a lot: what you put in is just as important as what you leave out, less is more and trust that your audience has good imagination and can relate to your work in a way that is unique to them. 

Stage 8  Finished Artwork

A Beautiful Day at the Beach, watercolor, 12 x 16½" (30 x 41 cm)