Yong Hong Zhong

Bio

Yong Hong Zhong was born in Canton, China and immigrated to the United States when he was twelve years old.  Yong developed a keen interest in drawing at an early age.  His determination to pursue his dream of being an artist prompted him to attend La Guardia High School, a prestigious school for music and arts in New York City.  Yong continued his education at Pratt Institute in New York to further develop his artistic skills.  He majored in Illustration and has a minor in Art History. 

A career at Disney allowed Yong to refine his skills in storytelling, color and composition.  The knowledge and experiences he acquired from the animation industry over the past 14 years continue to be an invaluable influence in his art.  After completion of Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” project, Yong was ready to take a different direction and focus on his passion for traditional painting. 

Yong takes inspiration from many different forms of art but none has more influence on him than the early California impressionists.  His subject matter varies from landscape to portrait to still life.  

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Workshop Description

This workshop is for all levels and most of the concepts covered are applicable to other mediums as well.  All the demos for this workshop will be in watercolor. Students are welcome to work with mediums of their choice, as Yong is proficient with other mediums such as oil, acrylic and gouache. 

Here's a brief breakdown of the watercolor workshop. 

Day 1 AM session: Discussion on visual structure of painting with emphasis on composition and value. Brief discussion on materials and supplies. Basic watercolor techniques (demo) followed by student hands on practice. PM session: Demo from black and white photo followed by student hands on practice. End of the day critique. Painting is about storytelling, emotional connection and personal expression. Visual Structure Flat Space, Limited Space, Deep Space and Ambiguous space.  Simplification is the key.  Squint to simplify values. Three value system. DARK, MEDIUM and LIGHT Composition. Think BIG, MEDIUM and SMALL. Start from general to specific. Material and supply discussion, Watercolor Techniques Dry on Dry, Dry on Wet, Wet on Dry and Wet on Wet Work from light to dark, background to foreground, Wet to Dry.

Day 2 Composition and simplification of shapes with emphasis on value, color, light and shadow. Demo from color photos in both AM and PM sessions. Student hands on practice and end of the day critique. Hue, Value and Saturation Color Temperature Warm/Cool Color is relative and every color has an inherent value. Different plane, color and value. Value changes vs hues changes. Squint to simplify values and open your eyes to see the colors. Light and Shadow Qualities of light. 

Day 3 Outdoor plein air painting, 45 to 60 minutes plein air demo. Student hands on practice painting on location and end of workshop critique. Checklist for outdoor plein air painting. Squint! Squint! Squint! Focal point or Center of interest. Values (think DARK, MED and LIGHT). Light source and shadow pattern. Simplifying shapes (think BIG, MED and SM). Paint shapes not things. Start from general to specific. Think Warm vs Cool, Light vs Dark, Large vs Small, Soft vs Hard, Curve vs Straight and Saturated vs Desaturated.

Suggested Supply List

Drawing Supplies: A small box of vine charcoal sticks, 2B pencils and an eraser. 

Paints: Azo Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red, Quinacridone Rose, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Cerulean Blue, Pthalo Blue, Payne’s Gray, Burnt Umber, Dioxazine Purple, Ivory Black, Chinese White 

Brushes: Round brushes 4 to 5 sable or synthetic and a couple of squirrel mops (variety of sizes). Flat brushes, 4 to 5 (variety of sizes). In addition to the traditional western watercolor brushes, I also like to use a variety of Chinese calligraphy brushes. Please bring what you already have. 

Paper: Arches Cold Press 10x14 or 9x12 140LB 12 sheets. 

Additional: Palette, Small sketchbook, water container, paper towel, masking tape, drawing board, palette knife, small spray bottle