Member Profile

Jimmy Chen

All of us who attended the Diamond Jubilee ‘Splash’ 2012 exhibition will remember the three awe-inspiring portraits by Jimmy Chen.

‘Old Woman’ featured on the front of our last newsletter as joint winner of the Watercolour New Zealand Supreme Award. Another of his works won the French Art Shop People’s Choice Award. Many members are keen to know more about this talented artist.

Jimmy Chen began learning to sketch as a boy of eleven years in his native country, China. Although he didn’t study art at school, he learned drawing privately for four years during elementary school. He had no professional training, as he studied Commercial Management in University.
He came to New Zealand in 1996.

"In 2009, I started watercolour painting and found a unique way for watercolour portraits. My dream is to use my watercolour brush to portray the colours in humanity."

Painting is a hobby for Jimmy.

Do you have a favourite artist who has influenced your style?

"At the very beginning I learnt from Mr. Guan Weixing who is the famous Chinese watercolour portrait artist. I learnt his techniques, then I found my own style."

Jimmy paints wet-in-wet, working from either a live model or a photograph. It takes him about five hours to complete a work. He paints mainly portraits and a few landscapes, using watercolour or oils.

What exhibitions have you participated in?

“Beside New Zealand’s watercolour exhibitions, I participated in a watercolour competition held by the International Watercolour Association in 2011 in Turkey. I got the sixth place.”

Is your work in any collections or owned by renowned people?

I was collected in the top 200 of international watercolour artists by the International Watercolour Association in 2010.

You can see many more of Jimmy’s works on his Facebook
page. Also view the works of Mr. Guan Weixing on his website.

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