ArtistsNetwork.com 45JinSong Zhang
ZhangwasborninHefei,thecapitaloftheAnhui
Province,inChina.ZhangholdsaB.A.intextileand
appareldesignfromtheSoochowUniversityandalso
completedapostgraduatedegreeinmediaartsin
theInternationalSchoolofSoftwareatWuhan
University.ShecurrentlylivesandpaintsinSuzhou,in
China’sJiangsuProvince.
Zhang’sloveofthewatercolormediumbegan
whenshestudiedwatercolorincollege.Theflowof
paintonpaper—withcolorsmergingandblending
magically—sharesakinshipwithsilkpainting,of
whichshe’samaster.“Onecanneverpredicttheflow
ofthewatercoloronthepaper,”Zhangsays,“but
whenthevisualeffectscreateluminosityandbrilliant
lights,theseareunalterable.”
Zhanghasmanypaintersinterestedinlearning
fromher.Shewelcomesstudentstoherhomestudio
onaregularbasis.And,anationalpublisherin
Beijinghascompiledherartandtutorialsintothree
booksthataresellingwellthroughoutChina.LEFT
In Quietly Waiting (watercolor on paper, 30x41),
Kuo describes the lonely red fl ower as “dancing
above its imperfect surroundings.” Her concept
arose as a metaphor to describe a loneliness
that calls out for some loving attention. “The
color blue in the painting represents melancholy
and coldness,” Kuo says. “The warm red is
meant to show the joy of being the protagonist
in the painting. The contrasting play between
hues provides visual vibration and energy.”
ABOVE
Of her watercolor, Persimmons Ruyi (watercolor on
paper, 21x30), Zhang says: “In Chinese culture, both
Ruyi and persimmons possess auspicious meanings.
Ruyi means ‘as you wish,’ and persimmons represent
fortune, because of their ripened golden hues. For my
setup, I fi lled a typical Chinese bamboo basket with
fruit and placed everything on a sheet of white silk.
The blue glass bowl provides a complementary hue
to the orange tones. The painting process was
smooth and joyful, as I know the fruits by heart.”