Presents
Yong Chen
Autumn Trees on an Island
Watercolour
This plain-air painting took place in October, on a quiet and small island just outside of Boston. I tried to not only capture the beauty of the colours, the morning light, and the shadows, but to also share the gentle breeze and the season of Autumn with the viewers through this artwork. This landscape represents the close connection of a human relationship through simple, everyday forms of nature, like trees.
A Flower Garden
Watercolour
This is a watercolour demonstration on how to use masking material. I tried to bring out the feeling of a warm, cosy backyard garden in the painting, so that the audience can experience it too.
A Snowy Evening Stree
Watercolour
On one snowy evening in England, a lady and her dog walked back home on the sidewalk. The cool tone of the snowing scene is joined by the warmer colour radiating from the streetlights, illuminating the companionship and love between the two.
A Young Mom Walking Home with a Baby (detail)
Watercolour
As an illustrator, I always try to make each painting tell a story and connect with the positive side of human connections. In this watercolour painting, I used a saturated bright blue colour to compliment the brown and green colour palette of the mom to offer a glimpse into her busy and tenacious daily life.
Course dates
Saturday 6 – Saturday 13 July 2024
Profile
Watercolour (acrylic, gouache, oil, digital)
Yong Chen is a painting professor from Boston, Massachusetts, and an accomplished painter, author, and illustrator. He has been passionate about art and teaching since his childhood. He graduated from the University of Hartford in the US with a Master of Fine Arts in Illustration and has 40 years of watercolor teaching experience. He a signature member of National Watercolor Society (NWS). His paintings have been exhibited in art galleries and museums in both China and in the United States. Yong is also an accomplished illustrator, and his watercolor paintings are used in many picture books and stories.
Yong is the founder of EnjoyingArt, an artist community, where he is teaching, coaching, and supporting members from across the US and more than 21 other countries. He encourages his students in their pursuit of artistic expression through the use of live lessons, instructional learning videos, painting events, and partnerships with other art communities.
You can learn more about Yong and his work at https://yongchen.com
Yong will mainly teach and demonstrate in watercolours, but he also excels in Chinese traditional painting, acrylic, gouache, oil and digital art, and is happy to teach in these mediums, too.
Artistic and teaching philosophy
In addition to using a limited colour palette in his classes, Yong teaches his students a step-by-step and systematic approach to art while also bringing out creativity and making the process simpler and more relaxing. He strongly believes that everyone can become an excellent artist if one has the interest to learn the process of thinking and art-making.
Praise from some of Yong's previous students
Yong is not only an amazing artist, but also a caring, devoted, excellent instructor and a kind person with a wonderful sense of humour. Yong provides a safe, happy, supportive environment where you can laugh and learn continuing on your personal journey in art. I highly recommend Yong. I leave each class feeling happy, motivated, and inspired and feeling so blessed to be learning from Yong. Bonnie C
Yong is a great instructor for students in every level of experience. I feel I have not only learned from expert teaching by Yong Chen, but by seeing the artistic growth of all his students. Lauri S
Yong made me see easily where my eyes were not properly trained, and patiently helped me to adjust them. So, my freehand drawing and proportions are starting to look as good as if I had traced, or done a digital template... Phoenix F
Yong Chen is a gifted and unique art teacher. He encouraged his students to enjoy and develop their artistic talents. Yong has developed his teaching methods over years of in-person and online teaching experience. He has high expectations for his students and encourages them at every step. Tom M
It’s rare to find an art instructor who sees both the deficiency and the potential of a student and is still able to meet you at your level. Professor Yong Chen gives me the tools to find my own solution and encourages me to push my boundaries. Constance M
Yong Chen is an amazing teacher. He goes through the entire process from composition to the final touches. I love his teaching style and how he speaks in a way that’s easy to understand. I see big improvements in my art after I took two painting classes with him. Ye L
