The Collage of My October Paintings

The Collage of My October 2014 Paintings

Last month, I slackened a bit due to the ongoing eye trouble, painting only 15 paintings. What can I say?  I am only human.  Which is your favorite painting?

"Golden Gate Bridge Nocturne" (oil on linen; 9" x 12")

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From the Marin Headlands, one can see a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline.  It is even more spectacular at clear night.  Look at the reflections of the brightly lit bridge in the San Francisco Bay!

"Golden Gate Bridge on a Stormy Day" (oil on stretched canvas; 12" x 16") sold

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From the Marin Headlands, one can see a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline.  It is even more spectacular on a windy, stormy day when there is a break in the sky.  I did another Golden Gate Bridge painting recently, as you can see below.  The earlier painting shows the famous red suspension bridge from Baker Beach, which stretches a mile below the rugged cliffs on the Presidio's western shoreline.  You can see the Marin Headlands in the distance.

I casually mentioned to my husband how I wished I had had more references of the bridge.  He said, "Really?  I have some."  He went to his computer right away and showed me the pictures he took while visiting San Francisco on a business trip last year. That's how the second painting above came about.  I don't know what I would do without him!

"Golden Gate Bridge" (oil on linen; 9" x 12")
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So which painting of the Golden Gate Bridge do you like better?  By the way, I am counting today's painting as one of my June Challenge series because it has a ship in it!

"Golden Gate Bridge on Sunny Day" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

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The famous Golden Gate Bridge on a sunny day.  Fluffy clouds float by in the sky.  A red ship in the distance is about to glide under the bridge.  The red bridge casts colorful reflections in the choppy water.  I thought of Claude Monet's "The Bridge at Argenteuil" when I was working on the above painting.  I wrote about how much I admire Monet's painting three months ago.  Something about a bridge, boat, clouds in a blue sky, and reflections in the water makes a happy painting.  Don't you agree?

"Golden Gate Bridge in Fog" (oil on linen; 12" x 9") sold

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The idea for "Golden Gate Bridge in Fog" occurred while I was helping my daughter build four model bridges for her school science project.  She and her team were testing how much weight different types of bridges could bear.  Tying up the string for the cute suspension bridge below required a considerable amount of dexterity, which none of the girls didn't possess; so I came to the rescue!  Am I bad?

A model suspension bridge (balsa wood and embroidery thread)

One famous suspension bridge came to my mind--Golden Gate Bridge!  I had to paint it.  The reference photo I used showed the bridge shrouded in fog.  So, today's big challenge was this: how do I paint the vaporous nothingness, which covers about one half of the painting?  The initial sky color was too cool and monotonous; I warmed it up and introduced more colors.  You are probably wondering what colors!  Well, look very closely.  They are there.  Probably the most important thing in painting fog is the treatment of edges.  I deployed a lot of lost and broken edges to suggest the mystery of fog.

"Golden Gate Bridge in Fog" posed a bit of a drawing challenge as well.  Do you know what I do when I have trouble with drawing?  I paint upside down.  Most of the bridge and the distant landscape were painted in that way.  Funny, I am sure, but it works every time.  It forces my mind to see shapes, not things.  You can paint anything  if you switch your mind to see shapes.

By the way, I love San Francisco.  I think it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  It was this city to which I flew when I came to the USA to study 28 years ago.  Since then, I visited it a few more times, and every visit has been memorable.  My favorite spot is Lombard Street, the crookedest street ever!

"Zen Moment at Crissy Field" (oil on linen; 8" x 16") sold

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You don't need me to tell you what the bridge is.  The view is from Crissy Field, which my family visited three years ago.  Do you know it used to be an old airfield?  After it became a park, indigenous flowers were planted and a tidal marsh that runs to the San Francisco Bay was restored.

That day a silver-haired gentleman was practicing Tai-Chi as his faithful dog was watching.  Then something strange happened.  My daughter, then nine years old, sat down on a piling; instead of staring at the man out of curiosity, she looked out at the Golden Gate Bridge for a very long time.  Fog was lifting, a large ship went by, and birds flew over.  It was a mesmerizing scene.  Three beings existed in perfect harmony with respect and contentment.  A true Zen moment.