[Yangzi Xu]

Hi Alex! My last homework is again a Paris street scene from a photo I took. I have truly learned a lot during the past six weeks. Not only am I more confident to paint but also to better appreciate other artwork. Especially, when I look at your beautiful paintings, I notice more subtle arrangements and designs such as the light reflections and other elements you showed us.

This course also has been a huge inspiration and motivation for me to paint more Paris. I am so grateful.

Btw, I was wondering if you have any interviews or articles that touch on your motive/experience moving to Paris, and if so, point me to them? Was the primary reason for art?

Thank you again Alex, and look forward to the critique!

[Yangzi Xu]

A Paris street scene from a picture I took. I was hoping to find one with better “hard light”, but this one was the best I could find. I was thinking of the “bouncing light” concept, but couldn’t find a proper (obvious) place to apply it in this painting…

Alex, are there any books or videos that you recommend which expand on the topic of warm and cool tones of light and shadows? I am eager to improve in this area. I didn’t give it too much thought before but now I realize this is an important element I want to learn. I really appreciate you having this topic in this course!

Thanks and looking forward to the critique!

[Yangzi Xu]

Hi – can you please also share the PDF files that Alex showed at the beginning part of the course? Thanks!

[Yangzi Xu]

A Paris street scene, from a reference photo I took. I added a red awning and eliminated some smaller objects. Alex – I was looking at some of your paintings and borrowed a similar composition just for the purpose of studying. I wanted to learn how to paint Paris 🙂 Hope you don’t mind.

P.S. In my last week’s assignment, I didn’t include a “character” since I couldn’t come up with a satisfactory one. However, I definitely was enlightened by the idea and will keep it in mind in my future creations! Thank you.

[Yangzi Xu]

The reference photo was taken at Rue Mouffetard Market during my trip to Paris a few years back. I was thinking of the verb “extend” when I tackled it, since the street seems to go on and curve in an interesting way. It was raining on and off that day and the clouds were a bit dark, but I depicted a more regular sunny day.

Thanks Alex! I look forward to your critique.

[Yangzi Xu]

My homework following the demo…thanks!

[Yangzi Xu]

My homework, using raw sienna.

[Yangzi Xu]

Hi I’m Yangzi from Naperville, a western suburb of Chicago. I started painting in watercolor about eight years ago. Although in recent a few years I primarily work in oil, I still love to do ink and wash sketches.

I’ve been following Alex on Instagram for a while and that’s how I found this lesson. I’m hoping to learn more about composition, capturing the mood, sketching, etc., and honestly just can’t resist the temptation of a live workshop from PARIS!

https://www.instagram.com/yangzi_xu

https://www.yangzixuart.com/

[Yangzi Xu]

Wow, the changes you made on the shadows are eye-opening. Now I can see and understand the concept much better. Thank you, Alex!!

I checked out Nathan Fowkes – yes, it looks like a lot of what he teaches would be very beneficial to me 🙂 Really appreciate your recommendation!!

[Yangzi Xu]

Thanks Alex! Wow, what a huge difference it makes by darkening the foreground shadows and lightening up the buildings near the vanishing point… Your feedback is super helpful!!😀

[Yangzi Xu]

Thanks Alex for your feedback!

– Roof & windows – yes, I do find them tricky. I was wondering if you may touch on tips for drawing/painting them? I also find the curved shapes with perspective hard to tackle, e.g. the arched lines in last week’s demo Arc de Triomphe. It would be great if you can briefly talk about how to draw curved lines in architecture, thanks!

– Shadow/Warm&cool colors – I’m excited that you’ll be covering the shadows because it is an area that I really want to improve. I also wish to do a better job using warm and cool colors in general, and what you point out is very valuable!

– Leaves/trees – thanks for pointing it out! Yes, now I can tell in my version the trees are a bit rigid. I like the adjustments you made. Again, very helpful!! Really appreciate it!

[Yangzi Xu]

Hi Alex,

You pronounced my name perfectly, thank you 🙂 The color I used is actually burnt sienna… I don’t know what I was thinking when I typed “raw”!! Sorry about that.

I really appreciate your commentary and encouragement!

Yangzi