The watercolor is considered one of the most difficult media to master, especially in the human portraits and figures. It takes a lifelong learning and practice to perfect the skills. These three artists in the exhibition have been painting watercolor for their whole lives, and in recent years, they tackle the challenging watercolor portraits and figures. Even though they are more or less realism in style, their expressions are very different. Their different life experiences may have contributed to the differences that make this joint exhibition more interesting.

Herong Zhang was born in Shanghai, China in 1932. He graduated from Nanjing Normal University. He had been teaching at Art department of Qing Dao University until his moving to the United States. Although Mr. Zhang is retired in San Diego now, he is still contributing to the art education in the community by teaching at local Art Institute and providing private lessons. He is a member of China Artist Association and International Chinese Artist Association.

Yuen C. Tam was born in Taishan, China in 1943. He likes painting since his early childhood. He graduated from Foreign Language Department of Zhongshan University. In 1973 during culture revolution, he escaped to Hong Kong and worked as a graphic designer there. In 1975, Mr. Tam immigrated to the United State and worked in the culinary art related field but continued to paint at his leisure time. Since his retirement, he spends most of the time painting watercolor. He is a member of San Diego Watercolor Society and San Diego Spanish Village Art Center.

Daniel C. Hsu was born in Keelung, Taiwan in 1954. Watercolor has been his favorite art medium for his entire life. He received his B.S. Degree in Physics at Fu Jen University in Taiwan and his M.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering at University of Delaware. Mr. Hsu designed laser optical systems for printings and holograms as anti- counterfeiting devices for 15 years. He worked as a general manager for several companies spanning from high-tech to agriculture and landscaping. In recent years, he has dedicated his entire time to watercolor paintings that he continued to do while working. He is a member of San Diego Watercolor Society and San Diego Portrait Society.

This exhibition is an important event in San Diego because it is rare to have so many watercolor portraits and figures in a single show as the major theme. These three artists share the belief that the watercolor can do portraits in details equally well as the oil painting. They hope that this joint exhibition can break the myth about the limitation of painting watercolor.