Keiko Stong Artist's Blog
Art communicates emotionsSan Ramon’s 2010 Art & Wind Festival
San Ramon’s 2010 Art & Wind Festival
Copyright © Keiko Stong Artist 2010
I am very happy to announce that the City of San Ramon commissioned me to create the signature artwork for their “San Ramon Art & Wind Festival.” The Program Manager of Historic Properties/Events, Kim Giuliano, had seen my work at the Lindsay Dirkx Brown Art Gallery and was impressed with the vibrant colors. She approached me about doing a commission piece for the 2010 Art & Wind Festival. What an honor!
We met several times; I created four “thumbnail” paintings (11 x 14 inches) for the committee to review, and then worked on the final (16 x 20 inches). It was a pleasure working with Kim—she is so enthusiastic and supportive. At the same time, she left the artistic expression in my hands.
San Ramon 2010 Art & Wind Festival
The final oil painting was delivered in December. For the 2010 San Ramon Art & Wind Festival, the painting will be the centerpiece for the festival and will be featured on posters, T-shirts and the cover of the San Ramon Recreation Guide.
The 2010 Art & Wind Festival will be held at San Ramon Central Park (12501 Alcosta) on Memorial Day weekend. I am excited about this festival.
Keiko
Keiko Stong
E-mail: keikostong55@hotmail.com
“Art communicates emotion.”
Keiko Stong Artist’s blog (& subscribing)
Keiko Stong Artist’s blog
Copyright © Keiko Stong Artist 2010
While Keiko paints and otherwise creates art, I support her in a variety of ways:
● Move things here, there, and everywhere
(mover)
● Maintain this blogsite
(web master?!)
● Drive market and web-visibility
(marketing manager)
● Deal with governments’ needs & requirements
(regulatory czar)
● Do the financial books
(finance manager)
● Support her official duties
(consultant)
Irori (Oil; Things Japanese)
Overall, she labels me as manager.
Our plan for “Keiko Stong Artist’s” blog is to post every other Friday. Keiko will cover interesting artistic aspects, and I will post on mundane, boring aspects. Keiko will go first, of course: at the beginning of each month. I will follow around mid-month. If there are any tedious, bean-counting, “art business” topics you are interested in, please let us know and I’ll research them.
Subcription Feature
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Bill
William A. Stong
Telephone: 925-202-6244
E-mail: william.a.stong@gmail.com
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Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
Copyright © Keiko Stong Artist 2010
Happy New Year!
I wish you great things in 2010! Now that the anemic 2009 is done and the Decade of ‘00’s is behind us, let’s look forward to a rosier era. Here’s to the ‘10’s Decade: May your creativity and enthusiasm know no bounds!
Crab Nebula: Part of Heavens Series
As a reminder, EBAG’s John Muir Medical Center show continues until January 15th. The show spans the main corridor on the ground floor of the Aspen Surgery Center. To visit,
● Enter the John Muir complex from La Casa road
● Park in their brand new parking structure
● Take the “center-of-the-building” elevator to the ground floor
Note: you can take the elevators at the ends of the garage, of course, but directions for getting to the exhibition corridor will be a little different.
● Exit the elevators and head away from the entrance
● The corridor is covered with art in both directions
The show has 70 paintings in various media from EBAG artists. The show was juried by Arthur Scott King and the winning paintings in each medium are tagged.
As mentioned in the December blog, my painting “Morning Ice” won 1st place in the watercolor medium and “Best in Show” overall.
Also as a reminder, I have decided not to be a member of the Moraga Art Gallery this year. I am still exhibiting at the ongoing storefront shows by EBAG in downtown Pleasant Hill.
Again, everyone: Happy 2010! May the New Year bring you much happiness and prosperity!
Keiko
Keiko Stong
E-mail: keikostong55@hotmail.com
“Art communicates emotion.”
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays!
Hello Everybody!
It’s the middle of the year end holiday season and I’m sure everybody is very busy, doing all of those wonderful things that tend to get done during this time of year.
The East Bay Artists Guild (EBAG) show at the John Muir Medical Center is also in mid-stream, having started on December 7th and goes through January 15th. The show is in the Aspen Surgery Center, on the ground floor of the building with the new parking garage. A total of 70 paintings from EBAG artists are on display, from various media:
● Acrylic/Oil (37 entries)
● Watercolor (15 entries)
● Photography (13 entries)
● Mixed Media/Other (5 entries)
I entered two paintings:
“Embracing Inner Spirit II”
Acrylic 40 x 30
This painting consists of 48 renditions of Japanese mon (family crests) in vibrant colors and designs. This work is a celebration of my heritage. Here is how I expressed it when the pair of paintings was introduced at the CC14 “Peace & Cake” DVC Art Show this summer:
“Inspired by a comment from a customer, I wanted to create meditating objects with dynamic spiritual energy. In these two paintings, I merge Japanese family crests with organic and geometric shapes. By placing each one in a 5-inch square, I aimed at increasing the number of elements and the range of emotion. A full palette of colors creates vibrant elements that one can meditate on and join with one’s inner self.”
“Morning Ice”
Watercolor 29 x 21
This is a painting from my Water-Snow-Ice series, all done in watercolor. I was inspired to do this painting by the beautiful ice on a delicate flower, highlighted by the sunlight flowing through the ice crystals as if they were prisms.
“Morning Ice” won First Place in the Watercolor category. After the judge and EBAG decided that the show could have a “Best in Show” award, the judge, Arthur Scott King
“…chose Keiko Stong’s watercolor entitled “Morning Ice,” and gave a glowing and enthusiastic critique of that sophisticated, complex and delicately detailed work of art.”
In other news, I will be leaving the Moraga Art Gallery at the end of the year. I have enjoyed being associated with this Gallery for the past year. The people are very nice and the gallery is perfect. Given my painting schedule, however, Moraga is a bit far away so I decided to stay closer to home for the next year.
I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!
Keiko Stong
Fall is a beautiful season!
Hello Everybody!
Tsukubai
It’s officially autumn, but the days have been so warm and beautiful! I am working on a commission piece for a northern California festival and at the appropriate time, will be able to share the specifics with you. In the meantime, I am painting every day in oil. There will be rolling hills, bright festive colors, lots of appropriate patterns and city-scape (in a manner of speaking).
I enjoy working in oil—the colors are so crisp, clean and deep. Painting takes longer, however, because oil takes longer to dry. The hair dryer is such a temptation! I should be happy with the extra drying: it gives me more time to think about the composition, the proportions, how the colors flow together and complement each other.
Besides painting everyday, I continue the rolling exhibits at:
● East Bay Artist Guild (EBAG) sponsored storefront
105 Crescent Drive, Pleasant Hill
Right downtown, to the south (toward Walnut Creek) of the theaters
Usually there are 2 paintings
Exhibits last for 5 weeks; the next one begins November 12th
570 Center Street, Moraga
Located in the Rheem Valley Shopping Center
Usually there are 2~4 paintings, depending on their size
Exhibits last for 10 weeks; the current one begins November 1st
The final exhibit for the year will at the John Muir Medical center in Walnut Creek in December.
Happy Halloween & a wonderful upcoming Holiday Season!
Keiko Stong
Art Festivals in Lafayette & Pleasant Hill, CA
Hello, Everyone!
I hope everyone had a great summer. Not sure about your part of the world, but the East Bay has had an unusual weather. There have been a couple of stretches of 110F days, but many more cooler days in the 80’s. And then last weekend, a thunder & lightening storm that brought rain; and it rained again yesterday.
The Moraga Art Gallery (MAG) will have a space at the upcoming Lafayette Art & Wine Festival this coming weekend. The MAG tent will be set up in the “Fiesta” parking lot with the Papillon coffee shop—among many other shops and restaurants.
Pastel
Several MAG artists will be displaying their work, as well as having pieces and prints for sale. I will be there all day on Sunday, September 20th (from 10 am to 6 pm).
Here are the details for the festival:
2009 Lafayette Art & Wine Festival
Saturday & Sunday
September 19 & 20, 2009
Downtown Lafayette, California
Next month, the East Bay Artist Guild (EBAG) will be participating in the Pleasant Hill Art, Jazz & Wine Fest. Our participation will be a little different than for the Lafayette festival. Instead of a dedicated booth, EBAG artists will be set up with their art supplies and equipment, working on creating new art. The artists will be sprinkled around the open area by the fountain where the Left Bank restaurant was.
I will be at the festival on Sunday afternoon, October 11th, from 1 pm.
Here are the details:
2009 Pleasant Hill Art, Jazz & Wine Fest
Saturday & Sunday
October 10 & 11, 2009
Downtown Pleasant Hill, California
As summer turns into “Back-to-School” days, be safe and have lots of fun!
Keiko Stong
Lindsay Dirkx Reception
Hello Family, Friends, Fellow Artists & Visitors,
We’re now half-way through the “A Palate of Colors” show at the Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery at the San Ramon Community Center.
Keiko & Pattern Landscapes
We had a nice reception on June 6th and I appreciate everyone who came. It was nice to spend time with you, talking about art, the paintings and what each of you is doing with your own work.
Water scapes Series
We attracted a few curious folks who were looking for, attending, the Bar Mitzvah in the other wing of the center. A couple of kids made out like bandits with the cookies & lemonade while their parents perused the art.
Upper level of Gallery
Suzy Chow, the Arts Coordinator of the City of San Ramon, has commented “I really enjoy the color & vibrancy Keiko’s work has brought to the gallery!”
Marine Life Watercolor Series
C.C. O’Connell, a Bay Area writer and art historian, visited the Gallery during the Artist Reception. Afterwards, she penned a blog about the show, combining both her writing and art skills.
I hope everyone enjoys the show through June 29th.
Have a wonderful summer!
Keiko
Just Beginning
This blog is just beginning. We will work through the steps as fast as we can. Keiko is an artist working in the East Bay near San Francisco, California. She is currently working with acrylic and oil on paintings that represent her background and interests. She does a variety of painting, depending on many things: landscapes, patterns (drawn from her Japanese heritage), flowers, marine life and others.
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