Happy New Year!

Thank you all who have purchased my artwork, visited my website, blog, and shops, and commented on my works throughout the year. Your support means a lot to me.

I wish you a new year filled with joy and happiness!

Alice of the Tigers

Size: 6 x 6 inches

Medium: Acrylic

Support: Ampersand Gessobord

This is my dear friend Alice as the queen of tigers. She asked me to turn her into a cat. Since she was born in the year of the tiger, I decided to give her tiger eyes, coat, and tiger-eye earring. However, my first attempt did not turn out to be cat enough for Alice. So this is the final version of the painting. I think it is very cool especially for a realism painter like me.

This is Alice's "Don't mess with the tigers" look. I painted this on the Christmas day. It is so appropriate because it was the one year anniversary of the death of young Siberian tiger named Tatiana. She was killed in the tragic incident on December 25, 2007 at the San Francisco Zoo.

Portrait of a Mystery Artist

Size: 6 x 6 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Ampersand Gessobord

This is a portrait assigned to me as the year end challenge in DSFDF run by amazing artist Karin Jurick. I don't know who this person is, but apparently he is working from my photo. I just want to say that he is much more handsome in photo than this painting. Hope he would like it. I would love to exchange paintings.

UPDATE: I've found out that this is a very talented artist Tom Pohlman. I'm so thrilled to exchange portraits with him. What a great news to start the new year. (January 1, 2009)

Another Raven Painting

Size: 10 x 10 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Stretched Canvas

An idea of painting a raven watching a total lunar eclipse had been on my mind for a long time. I finally got around to start with this project and had fun especially with the lunar eclipse. While painting, I also thought about having this raven carry a moonstone as an extension of my Treasure Seeker series, but dropped that idea. I might come back to it in the ACEO format.

Study of a Raven

Size: 9 x 12 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Gessoed Board

It's always a big challenge for me to paint birds. In this painting, I tried to learn about different types of feathers a raven has and how to depict the iridescent shine. It's not perfect, but turned out to be a handsome portrait, I think.

New Painting of Mexican Gray Wolves

Size: 11 x 14 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Wood panel

I spent many hours on this painting, trying to get into a wildlife art competition. It has turned out okay, I think, but don't know if it's good enough to be accepted. My friend photographer Deb Simon gave me permissions to use her beautiful photos. Thank you Deb! You are wonderful.

Study of a Mexican Gray Wolf

Medium: Acrylic
Size: 5 x 7 inches
Support: Ampersand Gessobord

I painted this portrait of Mexican Gray Wolf as a study before starting a larger one. The Mexican Gray Wolves were eradicated by humans. By the 1950s, the Mexican Gray Wolf had been eliminated from the wild. Today, an estimated 300 Mexican Wolves survive in facilities at the US and Mexico.

Scratchboard Study of a Cheetah

Medium: Acrylic
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches (ACEO)
Support: Scratchboard
Sold

I experimented with a scratchboard. Scratches help depict realistic animal hairs, but I could not get the vibrant colors I wanted with acrylic paints because the unscratched part is black. However, the result is interesting. I just need more planning and practice.

Juried Art Exhibition in Wyoming

Four of my paintings were accepted for "Call of the Wild" juried wildlife art exhibition at CIAO Art Gallery in Wyoming. The exhibition opens on November 29, 2008.

Tagged!

I've been tagged by wonderful artist Erika. This means I have to expose unusual things about myself to the world and find seven others who would willing to do the same. It's a fun game and helps get to know the persons you are interested in. There is no obligation to play this game, but if you want, these are the rules:

1. Put a link in your posting to the person who tagged you.
2. List 7 unusual things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 other bloggers at the end of your post and comment on their blogs to let them know."

My seven mysteries:
1. In 3rd grade, my painting won some award and I was chosen to do a painting for the entire school to enter a large competition. Unfortunately I don't know what happened to that painting; they never returned it to me. lol
2. I scored full 800 points on the math in SAT.
3. I refer to all animals including bugs as "persons" or "people."
4. I had a close friend from Mexico. He spoke only Spanish, no English, and I had no training in Spanish, but we could always carry conversations and understood each other. Nobody knew why.
5. I used to do Tarot reading for my friends and family since I was at high school. I even participated in a psychic show in San Francisco and got paid by reading Tarot.
6. I had a 9 to 5 job only for one year in my entire life. Always worked and still work at home. My job is freelance technical translator.
7. I have traveled Japan, US, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, and Italy. The most memorable things are not the beautiful temples, majestic scenery, or historic buildings, but the little creatures I met and came contact with.

I am tagging the following artists who are my great inspiration; if you have already been tagged by someone else, just ignore my tag. Remember this is just a game. Please participate only if you want to.

Melody Lea Lamb
Shelley Lampman
Jennifer MacNeill Traylor
Danielle Barlow
Ann Ranlett
Lara Harris
Robin Joy Andreae

Stars of Heaven

Size: 8 x 10 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Ampersand Gessobord

This is our Frankie. He passed on October 12, 2008. He was only 10 years old. It’s always very sad to lose pets, especially young ones. This is my tribute to Frankie. He is now in heaven surrounded by beautiful stars.

Treasure Seeker #16 - 3rd Chakra

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches (ACEO/ATC)
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimeida Artboard

This is #16 of my crow ACEO series. The treasure seeker (crow) has now successfully opened his 3rd chakra. This energy center deals with personal power, self-esteem, and vitality.

This painting is for sale at ArtByUs.com.

Portrait of a Papillon Dog

Size: 5 x 7 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Ampersand Gessobord

Juried Exhibition at Upstream People Gallery

Five of my paintings were accepted for 10th Painting, Drawing, Photography & Print Juried Online International Art Exhibition at Upstream People Gallery. The current show runs through the end of November 2008 and after that, the images of the paintings will be placed in their archive.

My version of New York Stock Exchange

Size: 5 x 7 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard
Sold

This is my version of NYSE painting for the weekly challenge "Different Strokes From Different Folks" hosted by Karin Jurick. When I looked at the reference photo , I was totally overwhelmed by the complexity of the project. However, it turned out to be a fun project.

Curt and John Singer Sargent

Medium: Acrylic
Size: 6 x 6 inches
Support: Ampersand Gessobord

I painted this for a birthday present for my husband (Curt). He is standing in front of a painting by John Singer Sargent at the museum Legion of Honor in San Francisco.

Stydy of a Puppy

Medium: Acrylic
Size: 5 x 7 inches
Support: Ampersand Gessobord
Sold

I painted this one for an upcoming charity auction for Golden Retriever Club of Greater Los Angeles Rescue, starting November 28th.

Painting of a Gorilla Baby

Title: Alone

Medium: Acrylic
Size: 9 x 12 inches
Support: Gessoed Board

This is my new painting of a gorilla baby in the field all by himself waiting for his mom. I did this one as a study for a larger painting and now realize that I need more practice on gorillas...

Beautiful Dorberman named Phoebe

Medium: Acrylic
Size: 6 x 6 inches
Support: Gesso board

This dog belongs to a friend of mine. More than a year ago, she showed me photos of her dog named Phoebe. I have been wanting to paint her for such a long time, and now finally did it!
I wonder what Phoebe was thinking about when the picture was taken. She is a rescue dog. Like all rescue animals, Phoebe must have some incredible stories that we will never know. I just feel deep emotion in her eyes.

Back to animals

Medium: Acrylic
Size: 5 x 7 inches
Support: Canvas panel

After playing with landscape and flower paintings, I decided to go back to animals, but this one is not my usual subject.

New flower painting

Medium: Acrylic

Size: 5 x7 inches
Support: Canvas Panel

In my attempt to learn California Impressionism, this is what I ended up with. Poppies are my favorite flowers. This one is California poppies.

Yet another landscape

I have painted another landscape today. This is Rockaway Beach in Pacifica. Those dark spots on the rock are pelicans. This acrylic painting is on a 9 x 12 inches canvas panel.

Something Different

I've just finished an acrylic painting that is different from my usual subjects. This one is a 6 x 12 inches landscape. It's a golf course at the coast of Pacifica (my hometown).

Can't help being political ...

Animals and environments are very important issues for me, so I want the next president to work hard to protect animals and take immediate steps to reverse global warming that has been ignored under the current administration.
As you might all know, Sarah Palin, vice president candidate for the republican party, is NO friend of animals. She likes to kill animals, specifically wolves and moose, and support commercial development over nature conservation. Check these links:

- Sarah Palin's Record on Aerial Wolf Hunting

-Sarah Palin's dead lake

Wonderful Story of Christian the Lion

I discovered this wonderful video today. Many of you might have already seen it, but it's worth watching it again.

Video: Christian the Lion

Wolves Need Your Help NOW!

As you all know, John McCain picked Sarah Palin for Vice President. But do you also know:

As governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin proposed paying a $150 bounty for the severed left foreleg of each dead wolf. She has championed aerial gunning of wolves and bears and approved a $400,000 state-funded campaign to promote this awful practice.

Please check THIS VIDEO. Wolves need your help now!

My New Design for T-shirts, etc.

This is my new design "Happy Cat" for T-shirts, mugs, magnets, and many other items:



They are available at my RedBubble, Zazzle, and Cafepress shops.

For Jack

This is my entry to a weekly challenge for Karin Jurick's dog "Jack." Karin started this challenge to commemorate her beloved Jack. I'm honored to be a part of this. Karin, thank you for posting this painting on your blog.

More Political Items Added to Cafepress Shop

I have added more "Obama for the Voiceless" items to my Cafepress Shop. Please visit Carepress. These are just a few of them:

Political T-shirts for the Voiceless

At Zazzle.com, I have created four different designs of T-shirts for the upcoming election. The message is "OBAMA for the Voiceless". The designs include Wolf, Leopard, Tiger, and White Tiger eye paintings. These are two of them:

Please visit my Zazzle store.

New Crow ACEOs in the series "Treasure Seeker"

I have been working on my new crow ACEOs. After finding the Wheel of Transformation, our treasure seeker started to go through his spiritual transformation.

I have completed the root chakra (top) and second chakra (bottom). There will be five more to reach enlightenment.