Keiko Stong Artist's Blog
Art communicates emotionsCurrent Exhibitions
Copyright © Keiko Stong Artist 2013
I hope everyone is enjoying the wonderful Bay Area spring. The last week has been phenomenal—although a bit more rain might be very helpful.
We have been so busy that we haven’t got around to letting everyone know about several events where a range of my paintings are currently being exhibited:
● Diablo Valley College Library Show 2013
“Inspiration Earth”
- March 11 (Monday) through May 10, 2013 (Friday)
- Sponsored by the East Bay Artists Guild (EBAG)
- An Artists reception will be held:
April 6, 2013 (Saturday)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Light refreshments will be served
- Three paintings from my Waterscapes series will be displayed, from Slide Rock Park in Arizona
Venue
- At the Diablo Valley College (DVC) Library
321 Golf Club Road
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
- The library hours are:
Monday – Thursday 8 am to 9 pm
Friday & Saturday 10 am to 3 pm
Saturday 12 Noon to 4 pm
Sunday Closed
http://www.dvc.edu/org/departments/library/index.htm
● Metropolitan Transportation Commission-Oakland Exhibition
“A Celebration of Art!”
- March 11 (Monday) through May 10, 2013 (Friday)
- Sponsored by the East Bay Artists Guild (EBAG)
- An opening reception will be held on
March 28, 2013 (Thursday)
4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Light refreshments will be served
- Three paintings from my Japanese Heritage series will be displayed
Venue
- At the Joseph P. Bort Metro Center
Art Gallery
101 Eighth Street, 3rd F
Oakland, CA 94607
- The hours of the Metro Center are:
Monday – Friday 9 am to 5 pm
Saturday & Sunday Closed
510-817-5700
http://www.mtc.ca.gov/about_mtc/art_gallery/ebag/
● John Muir Medical Center Art Show
- March 16 (Saturday) through May 3, 2013 (Friday)
- Sponsored by Las Juntas Artists
- Two paintings from my Pattern Landscape series will be displayed
- This is a juried show and my painting, “International Cities” won 2nd Place in the Oil and Acrylic Section.
Venue
John Muir Medical Center (Walnut Creek Campus)
1601 Ygnacio Valley Road
Walnut Creek, CA
925-939-3000
http://www.johnmuirhealth.com/index.php/jmmdhs_jmmc.html
● East Bay Artists Guild (EBAG)
Rotating show in store front on 105 Crescent Drive, Pleasant Hill
(~2 paintings)
Hope you are having a wonderful spring!
Keiko
Keiko Stong
E-mail: keikostong55@hotmail.com
Blog #: 13-03-034
“Art communicates emotion.”
Error in Date: Port Costa Art & Craft Show ONLY Saturday; Sept. 15, 2012
We apologize for our mis-understanding. We had previously announced that the Port Costa Art & Craft Show would be on Saturday; September 15 as well as on Sunday; September 16, 2012.
Unfortunately, the correct information is that the Arts & Crafts portion was only for today, Saturday, September 15th. Tomorrow, on Sunday, the Art Show Gallery will be open but the Arts & Crafts vendors will not be there.
We are very sorry for any inconvenience.
Keiko Stong
Upcoming Shows & Events
Copyright © Keiko Stong Artist 2012
I hope everyone is enjoying summer. Interesting weather, isn’t it? From very hot to downright chilly. Well, that is part of the beauty of living in the Bay Area!
As we head into late summer and the beginning of fall, I wanted to let you know of several upcoming shows:
- At the Orinda Library
- August 2 (Thursday) through August 30, 2012 (Thursday)
– The library hours are:
Monday – Thursday 10 am to 8 pm
Friday & Saturday 10 am to 6 pm
Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm
- An opening reception will be held:
August 4, 2012 (Saturday)
3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Light refreshments will be served
As a special treat, recent immigrant from Colorado,
Bryan Kemler, will be playing guitar and saxophone during the reception.
Memory Lane 1
● aRt Cottage Show
– At the aRt Cottage
2238 Mt. Diablo Avenue
Concord, CA
- September 1 (Saturday) through September 28, 2012 (Friday)
– The hours of the aRt Cottage are:
Monday – Friday; 9 am to 5 pm
Saturday and Sunday; 1 pm to 5 pm
– An opening reception will be held at the Cottage
September 6, 2012 (Thursday)
6 pm to 8 pm
Light refreshments will be served
- The same paintings as the CC4 Show, Another World, will be displayed
● Lamorinda Landscape Artists’ Exhibition
Waterfall
Contra Costa County Administration Building
651 Pine Street
Martinez, CA
– The month of September 2012
– Reception for the artists is:
September 5, 2012 (Wednesday)
6 pm to 8 pm
Light refreshments will be served
– Five of my paintings will be displayed
Shardow Water
The Arts and Culture Commission of Contra Costa County announces the display of landscape paintings, drawings, prints and photographs, created by Lamorinda Arts Alliance (LAA) members and by resident artists of Lamorinda. The art will be on exhibition at the Arts Passages Gallery, Contra Costa County Administration Building, 651 Pine Street, Martinez during the month of September.
– At the Old Port Costa school house
Canyon Lake Drive & Reservoir Road
– September 15 & 16, 2012 (Saturday and Sunday)
10 am – 5 pm
Mountain Peak 1
– This annual event is a weekend holiday arts & crafts fair wrapped around an Art exhibition. The Port Costa Art Show is fun for everyone with much to do and, importantly, is a fund-raiser for the “Port Costa Conservation Society.” It’s a great place for getting an early jump on that holiday shopping list!
– I will have at least one painting in the Art Show, and will also have a table for prints, etchings, small paintings (e.g., pattern paintings and the universe series), mailing cards with photos of my paintings, and other crafts such as Christmas ornaments and the well-received Japanese-washi-paper desk-organizers (see photo!).
Hope you are having a wonderful summer!
Keiko
Keiko Stong
E-mail: keikostong55@hotmail.com
Blog #: 12-07-032
“Art communicates emotion.”
New Shows!
New Shows!
Copyright © Keiko Stong Artist 2011
Sorry it has been so long since we last communicated! Things have been busy…and interesting. We trust that every one is enjoying a good 2011 so far.
Anyway, I am exhibiting art at two shows currently:
Spring Blossoms
Sponsored by the Gallery Concord/California Watercolor Association
Featured watercolor artist is Pablo Villicana-Lara
Guest artists are
Keiko Stong (Acrylics)
Kay Van Hoesen (Gourd Artist)
Venue:
The Gallery Concord
1765 Galindo Street
Concord, CA 94520
Located one block south of Willow Pass Road
Free parking is available off Clayton Road behind the gallery
Gallery hours:
Thursday – Sunday, 11 am – 4 pm
Telephone: 925-691-6140
From March 31 – June 26, 2011
I am exhibiting eleven (11) oil and acrylic paintings; mostly patterned and Japanese heritage paintings
Art Show at the Old Port Costa School
Sponsored by the Port Costa Conservation Society
Featuring works by over 35 local artists
Venue:
The Old Port Costa School
Port Costa, CA
Located on Canyon Lake Drive & Reservoir Street
Old Port Costa School hours:
Weekends in May 2011, Noon – 4 pm
From May 7 – May 29, 2011
I am exhibiting five (5) paintings for the show; a range of works: a watercolor, a print, an acrylic and a couple of oils.
Hope you are having a great spring!
Keiko
Keiko Stong
E-mail: keikostong55@hotmail.com
Blog #: 11-05-031
“Art communicates emotion.”
Series of Paintings
Series of Paintings
Copyright © Keiko Stong Artist 2010
As I have pursued painting, time and again I have become fascinated with a particular topic, subject, or even medium. Sometimes my eagerness to follow a particular trail, or series, is simply because it’s a new technique and I want to try it several times to learn its secrets and improve my hand at it. Other times I come across a subject that entrances me and, like with learning a new media, I find myself drawn to painting different subjects of similar kind…again, to experience the creation of that particular art, to understand a bit more of its challenges and depths and secrets.
And, so, over the years I have ended up with several series of paintings. I didn’t start out to create them. Rather, they just happened along the way of my journey as an artist.
So far, my series are:
● Tropical Marine Life
- A celebration of the strange shapes and vivid colors of fish and other life forms in our oceans
- Watercolors
- Approximately 15 paintings
● Hands
- Focus on human hands: they reflect out lives
- Acrylic
- 2 paintings
● Flowers
- Another celebration of shapes & brilliant colors; this time land-based
- Watercolors
- Approximately 8 paintings
● Landscapes and Waterscapes
- Finding the beauty of our earth
- Acrylic or oil
- Approximately 13 paintings
● Heavens
- Exploring the beauty and mystery of space & the universe
- Oil
- Approximately 10 paintings
● Things Japanese
- Delving into my heritage, especially cultural aspects, aesthetics, and the patterns embedded in kimono, washi-paper, and family crests
- Acrylic or oil
- Approximately 9 paintings
● Pattern Painting
- A fusing of landscapes and Japanese (-like) patterns; adding a bright overlay to the beauty of earth
- Acrylic or oil
- Approximately 46 paintings
So many subjects,
So much beauty,
So little time!
Keiko
Keiko Stong
E-mail: keikostong55@hotmail.com
Blog #: 10-10-029
“Art communicates emotion.”
Derivative Art Products
Derivative Art Products
Copyright © Keiko Stong Artist 2010
We are beginning to experiment with making “derivative” products from Keiko’s artwork. We don’t know much—yet—about derivative products, but we imagine these are anything of interest to which, somehow, a digital image of one of Keiko’s art pieces can be attached.
A ubiquitous example might be art on a coffee mug. That is definitely a possibility, but we started on a simpler one: glossy photo prints made into cards. We created a few from Keiko’s series:
● Tropical Marine Life
(8 different subjects)
● Flowers
(6 different subjects)
● Things Japanese
(6 different subjects)
For this first test-effort, we selected a minimum of six from each series. At the Port Costa Art Show on September 19, 2010, our “inventory” included these cards, sold either individually or in sets. People were impressed when told that the photos were of paintings done by Keiko. They sold rather well—and that leads to the next stage.
Which is, we are working with a company that specializes in such derivative ideas. Some of the possibilities involving digital art images include:
● Giclee prints
● Coffee mugs
● Large canvases
● Printed cards
● Posters
There are many more possibilities, we understand. More on that as our experiments continue!
Bill
William A. Stong
Telephone: 925-202-6244
E-mail: william.a.stong@gmail.com
Blog #: 10-09-028
Eco-friendly Japanese desk organizers & the Port Costa Art Show
Eco-friendly Japanese desk organizers & the Port Costa Art Show
Copyright © Keiko Stong Artist 2010
Only a few more days to the 2010 Port Costa Art Show. As mentioned in my earlier announcement, I will be selling my hand-crafted desk organizers. What you might not know is that these beautiful, utilitarian items are also eco-friendly in their own way.
How? Well, they are crafted from half-gallon wax-board beverage cartons. So, every one is an act of recycling—or, even better, re-use for many more years. Our landfills will be happier and last longer. You can take home an interesting desk-top item and help the environment at the same time!
Raw Material
Here’s how it’s done:
Step 1: Drink all the orange juice (or whatever beverage is inside!)
Step 2: Clean & dry carton
Step 3: Cut the carton up to specifications
Step 4: Pick out the right washi-paper by envisioning what the final product will look like and what kind of feelings it will evoke through its colors and designs
Step 5: Affix the washi-paper to the pieces and assemble everything
Step 6: Decide and put on complementary borders and a felt bottom
Washi-paper Desk Organizers in use
Viola! A unique and stunning desk accessory to hold your pens, pencils, markers, rulers and other desk-top supplies.
As a reminder, here are the show’s specifics:
Port Costa Art Show 2010
Sunday; September 19, 2010
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Port Costa School
Canyon Lake Drive and Reservoir Street
Perhaps we’ll see you there!
Keiko
Keiko Stong
E-mail: keikostong55@hotmail.com
Blog #: 10-09-27
“Art communicates emotion.”
Icons/Photos:
1. Raw Materials
2. Washi-paper desk organizers in use
