This painting was originally in my salon but was moved upstairs when we needed to move promotional photos into that space. The painting may look Mondrian-like, but this painting is an homage to one of my favorite artists, Ellsworth Kelly. (Take a look at my inspiration section of this website for more information on Kelly.)
This painting was designed by digitally projecting the image onto the canvas and then using a free hand to draw the radial spokes. That combination affords both the painterly touch that makes it appear handmade but the rigidity of a pattern that unifies the four pieces and creates a more uniform visual appeal. This tetraptych is situated along the hallway of the first floor between my spa and salon. My art fans will recognize the presence of tone on tone colors that I love to use!
This painting was designed with the focal point being the lush pearl waves that punctuate the canvas. They were made by mixing pearl acrylic paint, gel gloss to add further sheen, and molding gel to add heft and three-dimensionality. This site-specific work was designed to be in the salon’s entrance where the viewer would be looking at it on edge with the sun coming through a window from the other side, making the light interplay across the work more dramatic and also unique for different times of the day, different weather conditions, and different seasons.
Ok, the title of this painting also is stolen from a movie title. This one may be a bit more obscure. It is a 1966 black-and-white and risqué Jean-Luc Goddard film that typifies the French new wave style. Hey, come on I was a modern European history major with a focus on French and British history, and my salon is primarily French! As you can see, the colors I chose for the one on the left is more masculine (my interpretation of masculine) and the one on the right is more feminine (again my artistic rendition of this thought). You will find this painting in my salon to the left of the reception desk.
Yes, I stole the name from the 1960 care-free Fellini film by the same name. This fun painting of tone on tone flowers stands upstairs in front of Dr. Ku’s office. This is a lively piece that is not very serious but fun and playful, as I am! Look vertically up and down if you want to see the family of colors I used.
Charcoal Line Drawing by Dr. Samuel Lam
This is one of my favorite pieces of art. It currently hangs in the reception area of AVC upstairs. It is a charcoal piece on cold-pressed watercolor paper that expresses a sinuous line that is both graphically clean but not smudge-free. I love the hint of painterliness that invades the sense of order. I love that juxtaposition! It is at once organic and representational as well as abstract.
Charcoal Drawing
Alban Painting by Dr. Sam Lam
This painting is very bright and works well for my salon in which it hangs. It is named after my wonderful artistic director, Alban. The top two outer squares are bright red and the bottom outer squares are pyrrole orange if you cannot tell. The middle upper and lower center squares are pearl paint mixed with gel gloss, which Alban suggested because I was confronting a dilemma of how to make that square interesting with some kind of shiny paint. He liked my use of pearl for another salon painting, and it was the perfect suggestion. The outer upper center squares are stainless steel and the lower outer center squares are silver. I like how these metals create a neutral contrast to the bright primary colors.
Alban Painting by Dr. Samuel Lam
Egg Watercolor Paintings by Dr. Sam Lam
As I started to do work for my spa, I moved from a strong geometric design for my office and bold colors for my salon to more of a muted, pastel quality that would evoke a feminine yin energy. I created almost every piece for the spa using cold-pressed watercolor paper. This series is one of my favorite and hang in the clinical skin care side of the spa. They hang in different rooms and each one conveys a different energy and spirit.
Again, you can see a lot of tone on tone work to keep my palette clean. Watercolor is such a versatile medium to convey different emotions. The center yolk part of the egg is created with a dense application of unwatered watercolor paint after I first laid down a watered down version for the white of the egg. This work was inspired actually by seeing a splotch of watercolor on a national spa magazine ad. I can’t remember which ad it was. You can see how there is a wonderful combination of geometric rigidity and painterly freedom that is very characteristic of my overall style. I really hope you visit my spa and see these pieces for yourself because I cannot convey their beauty with mere photographs. (Sorry, I realize I forgot to photograph my purple one. Well, I guess you just have to come to see it in person!)
Orange Egg Watercolor Painting by Dr. Sam Lam
Aqua Egg Watercolor Painting by Dr. Sam Lam
Green Egg Watercolor Painting by Dr. Sam Lam
Airbrush Paintings by Dr. Sam Lam
I had a tremendous amount of fun doing these two sets of paired paintings. Both sets are named “Agnes” and are named after Agnes Martin, an artist who has had tremendous influence in my thinking and aesthetic design work. You can read about her and watch her video in the Inspiration section of this website. Agnes I hangs in the men’s bathroom and is completely composed of airbrush work where the background comes alive. It is a softer looking piece than Agnes II, which hangs in the female bathroom. Agnes II has a solid background painted with acrylic then overlayed with airbrush work. The airbrushing comes alive because of the tension created with the background color, where in real life when you look at them, there is almost a bouncing quality at the intersection of the line and the background.
Agnes I Painting by Dr. Sam Lam
Agnes II Painting by Dr. Sam Lam
This painting is part of a paired painting set that hangs in my second, larger consultation room. I like the fabric-like feel of the blue gesso background and the almost stuck-on look of the magenta and stainless steel paint. Somehow the color combination really works, at least for me it does.
Peripheral Vision Painting by Dr. Sam Lam
