“Lightning tree” fantasy oil painting 16″×20″ ©YueZeng2025 Initial thoughts The idea starts with “tree of life”. Since the lightning patterns resemble tree roots, I want to place a giant, mysterious tree above the lightning. Initially, I considered a regular tree with green leaves, but I soon realized that everything would appear dark without an additionalContinueContinue reading ““Lightning tree” Fantasy oil painting”
Tag Archives: digital sketch
“Teleporting train” Fantasy oil painting
“Teleporting train” fantasy oil painting 11″×14″ ©YueZeng2025 Initial thought I had been considering painting a teleportation scene for some time but had not yet decided on the main subject. Then, earlier this year, news about the California wildfires was everywhere. It’s not just California; here in Minnesota, we are also affected by wildfires in CanadaContinueContinue reading ““Teleporting train” Fantasy oil painting”
“Gold ravens” Fantasy oil painting
“Gold ravens” fantasy oil painting 16″×20″ ©YueZeng2025 The story In ancient Chinese mythology, there are ten suns. And there are ten gold ravens carrying each sun. Everyday, one of them flies up high across the sky. They take turns to light up the world. By the end of the day, the gold raven will returnContinueContinue reading ““Gold ravens” Fantasy oil painting”
“The false eye” Fantasy oil painting
“The false eye” fantasy oil painting 11″×14″ ©YueZeng2025 Initial thought Ever since I saw the butterfly with the owl’s eye, I wanted to put it on real cat’s face. I tried it once 5 years ago but didn’t like it half way there. So that piece was left behind and collecting dust. Old work ofContinueContinue reading ““The false eye” Fantasy oil painting”
“Castle on cloud” Fantasy oil painting
“Castle on cloud” fantasy oil painting 11″×14″ ©YueZeng2025 Initial thought Clouds are in all sizes and shapes. We often like to imagine what a piece of cloud looks like. Sometimes, the shape of high thunderstorm cloud looks like it could easily host a castle. So what about a real castle? A real white castle onContinueContinue reading ““Castle on cloud” Fantasy oil painting”
“Dragon in distance” Fantasy oil painting
“Dragon in distance” fantasy oil painting 11″×14″ ©YueZeng2025 Initial thought I’ve always wanted to paint some creatures from ancient mythology. Dragon is a very good one. And as you may know, Chinese dragon doesn’t have wings. Yes they can fly and swim and go wherever they want without wings. In Chinese culture, dragon is oftenContinueContinue reading ““Dragon in distance” Fantasy oil painting”
“Dragon gate” Fantasy oil painting
“Dragon gate” fantasy oil painting 16″×20″ ©YueZeng2025 The story This dragon gate fantasy oil painting depicts the theme of 鱼跃龙门 [Yu Yue Long Men] This proverb comes from a folktale about carp leaping over Mount Dragon Gate to get to a beautiful lake on the other side. The folktale is believed to have taken shapeContinueContinue reading ““Dragon gate” Fantasy oil painting”
“Cactus apartment” Fantasy oil painting
“Cactus apartment” fantasy oil painting 16″×20″ ©YueZeng2025 Initial thought One day the idea jumped to me when I was looking through my reference photo library. It was a photo of cactus Saguaro. The cactus was big and tall, what if it was big enough for people to live in? Then the idea changed to whatContinueContinue reading ““Cactus apartment” Fantasy oil painting”
Tea eggs oil paintings and how to make them
Background Tea egg is a Chinese savory food commonly sold as a snack, in which a boiled egg is cracked slightly and then boiled again in tea, and sauce or spices. It is also known as marble egg because cracks in the egg shell create darkened lines with marble-like patterns. Commonly sold by street vendorsContinueContinue reading “Tea eggs oil paintings and how to make them”
“White fox shrine” Fantasy oil painting
Fantasy oil painting “White fox shrine” ©YueZeng2024 Background In Japanese folklore, the white fox is the companion of the god Inari (稲荷神). This god is in charge of agriculture and harvest. Therefore his companion or messenger, the white fox, is a positive and welcome figure. The reason is that fox hunts the mice and ratsContinueContinue reading ““White fox shrine” Fantasy oil painting”