Kids, Dogs, Art & Wine in San Carlos

This young man really got into the spirit of fall at the San Carlos Art & Wine Festival last weekend!  He was not only feeling the spirit of fall, but also the powerful spirit of the Fire Dragon, which he brought home with him that day!  I was especially lucky when he sang a song he knew in Mandoran which totally blew me away!  My desire to learn Chinese is increasing all the time.  Now I just have to decide if I should take a course or take a trip to China - probably both!

The streets were filled with the most stylish dogfriends I ever saw at an art show!  It was definitely entertaining watching the dog parade.  I painted a Tibetan Spaniel after seeing one at the Solano Stroll.  The funny thing is it actually looks a lot like our family's puggle, Brandy.  Subliminal appearance of my sweet old dog!

I am so happy when people enjoy the characters that come to life in my paintings.  I had several exciting conversations with children's book authors and enthusiasts and am imagining how fun it would be to illustrate childrens books.  

Well, it's a nice thought knowing that after this coming weekend's show in Menlo Park, I'll have about a month to develop more ideas and paintings.

Menlo Park 

Menlo Park, CA 
13th Annual Sidewalk Arts & Crafts Fall Fest

October 16·17·18 
Location: 
Santa Cruz Avenue at El Camino Real 
Menlo Park, CA 
Admission: FREE 
10am-5pm 
http://www.pacificfinearts.com/schedule.htm

Come see me!!!

Tales from the Sacramento Arts Festival 2009

Monday morning following a great art show is always a mixture of satisfaction and exhaustion!  

Warren Cook organized an excellent festival at the Sacramento Convention Center last weekend and I am so happy to have been a part of it!  The attendance was up from last year (actually the highest attendance in 8 years!) and the people were lots of fun to talk with and share my work with.  Since I am new to the Sacramento Area, I now have a very good feeling about that part of Northern California and definitely plan on going back.  Good thing is it only took us 1 hour and 20 minutes to get home last night!

The people of Sacramento are very diverse - I met people from all over the world - China, Krygyzstan, England, Australia, Oakland (ha ha ha)... And had fun figuring out everyones' Chinese Zodiac Animals and Elements.  Plus, my very first FU DOG went home with a lovely couple who had recently visited China.

I am very inspired to continue creating my 5 Elements Chinese Zodiac Series!  All 12 Animals with their 5 Elements.

I wasn't convinced about indoor shows until now.  The controlled environment was a relief after getting heatstroke in Walnut Creek two weekends ago!  Plus, our neighbors are now great friends who I'm sure we will cross paths with again.  Candace and TJ Ashment from Idaho kept the days from feeling too long with their great humor and storytelling!  They are the same age as Tyler and I and we had so much in common!  As the artists, Candace and I joked about the guys being the muscle behind the operation.   Here's Candace at work putting some color into her beautiful block prints.

Meanwhile... at home Wiki was playing with her girlfriends, lucky dog!

Surfer Dog

Happy Autumn Equinox!  

It's true, Fall has arrived, although it honestly feels like Summer here

in Oakland.  I am not complaining about that, and neither is my Surfer Dog, Wiki!  

She's been riding some big waves (for a dog) with that tennis ball in her mouth the whole time!

Wiki is taking after her Daddy, the kiteboarding maniac.

So, as you can see, Summer never ends for the three of us, as long as we can play in the water!

The Solano Stroll

I was looking forward to the Solano Stroll all week because I knew I would see lots of friends, old and new!  I was not mistaken!  This street festival is such a huge community gathering for Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, even Oakland and the street was absolutely flooded with people.  I got to see my old Mills College friend - Anna Ishida, my Early Music friends - David and Hanneke, my piano student - Aidan and his mom Kimberly, my Operadance CO dancer - Juliet and her family, my musical director friend - Shanti and her husband Lachu, and the list goes on.  On top of running into old dear friends, I met so many new people and shared lots of stories and great conversations!

As you can see by how Tyler enthusiastically grabbed a front row seat for the parade, that part of the festival was awesome.  The parade was filled with performers that truly represented the rich culture of the East Bay.  

My original Swirly Water Dragon that I painted special for the Millbrae Art & Wine Festival now has a new home with another Kimberly, who is the mom of one of my past piano students.  Yay!!!

I am so excited about how my art shows are going that I am adding several more to my 2009 schedule.  The next show, newly added, is:

WALNUT CREEK : 63rd Semi-Annual Arts and Crafts Fall Sidewalk Fair 
North Main, Cypress, and Locust Streets    (map)
10am-6pm Fri/Sat · 10am-5pm Sun
September 25·26·27

Millbrae Art & Wine Festival Labor Day Weekend 2009

The Millbrae Art & Wine Festival folks do an amazing job of promoting this show!  They were so awesome in advertising and it surely paid off because there must've been atleast 50,000 people there.  I felt like I talked to every single one of them!  I was so wiped out by Sunday night!  It was a blast.  They not only mentioned me in their program's article about fine art, but ALSO featured me on their LIVE cable television show that broadcasted throughout the show.  That show is now being played on their website (mctv.tv).  But just to warn you, at this point it is a continuous stream of footage from that show.  As soon as I get the DVD, I want to share it with all of you!

The above painting is my original "Swirly Water Dragon" that I painted especially for the Millbrae Fest.  Another super fun water dragon playing in the waves and lovin' life!!!

My wonderful family friends, Cyril and Ymen, came to pick up their "Swirly Water Dragon"  (below) that I personalized for them.  That's a great way to make my dragon series come alive and become one of a kind - enhanced giclees.

6th Graders Chinese Brush Painting!!! Impressive!!!

I had the extreme honor to teach a workshop at the Julia Morgan School for Girls on Friday, Sep 4th.  These girls were so much fun!!!  Chinese Brush Painting for the very first time is not really that easy, and I was super impressed with them for just going for it.  All 11 girls, along with their very cool teacher, ended the day with a completed painting.  These paintings will be offered for a special fund raiser auction at the school later this Fall.  Very Awesome!!!  

Kings Beach Art Festival and Kimbirdlee's Birthday

The ultimate location for an art festival~ Kings Beach, North Lake Tahoe ~Aug 28-30th

I will definitely be returning to Kings Beach next year.  After hearing from all the other veteran artists who told me this weekend was the slowest ever, I am certainly looking forward to a busy weekend.  Considering the mellowness of the weekend, there were still a good number of dragons, frogs and flowers going home with wonderful people from all over the country.  

I love the diversity from all the Tahoe visitors!  The joy of doing outdoor festivals is meeting so many amazing people of all ages and hearing their stories.  The people that actually live in Lake Tahoe really got me thinking - should I relocate?  I am such a lake person!!!

It's true, it was my birthday on Sunday!  

Some of the highlights were:

Visiting with my friends, Bridget, Dave & their 2 boys

My awesome gift (a french press) from Tyler - 

gotta have fresh brewed coffee when 

living the life of luxury out of our plush home on wheels!

Hiking through the breathtaking beauty of Lake Tahoe.

And simply being there!