Winter evening at Twelve Corners

Winter evening at Twelve Corners, sketch, 12X16 or thereabouts, oil on canvas

I was waiting for my son at Brighton High School and amusing myself by taking photos of the streetlights with a handheld camera. Never thought of the photos as a painting until it was suggested by my friend Pilan. Here it is in an expanded sketch.

Completed portfolio: Zeyuan Chen

Zeyuan Chen is 17 and will graduate from Brighton High School in June with three APs and a GPA of around 3.7. Ze emigrated from Kunming Prefecture at age 9. Her native language is Mandarin but she speaks flawless English. Ze’s father is a professor in China and her mother trained as a mathematician but works as a waitress here. (She completed this portfolio while maintaining excellent grades at one of the top 100 public high schools in the US.)

Ze started studying with me in Fall 2007, although I've known her for much longer than that. She has studied Chinese calligraphy and painting, which is evident in the delicate brush work of her piece, Qing Yi, which is a setting of a friend's poem.

Self-portrait, graphite, approx. 18X24, 2007

Sandy’s parents’ restaurant interior, graphite, approx. 18X24, 2008

Gail as Isabella with the pot of Basil, oil on canvas, approx. 18X24, 2008

Four bananas, colored pencil, approx. 18X24 overall, 2007

Peonies life drawing, graphite, approx. 18X24, 2007

My shoe, graphite, approx. 18X24, 2007

Qing Yi, colored pencil and ink calligraphy, approx. 18X24, 2007

Skeleton life drawing, graphite, approx. 18X24, 2008

Sock, graphite, approx. 18X24, 2008

Pile of shoes, marking pen on newsprint, approx. 18X18, 2006

Foot, graphite, approx. 9X12, 2008

Shoes, colored pencil and marking pen, approx. 18X24, 2005

Classroom window molding, graphite, approx. 18X24,

10-minute figure sketch, marking pen, approx. 18X24, 2005

Mary as John the Baptist (unfinished), acrylic on canvas, approx. 18X24, 2007