"When we think of a sketch as just a sketch, then such a sketch will always be dead."

Oliver Sheen from the United States

Born in Hong Kong in 1973, he moved to the United States to study art in 1990 , graduated from the University of the Arts in San Francisco, California with a bachelor's degree in illustration.

After graduating in 1996, Oliver worked as a computer game concept artist at LucasArts, and started his artistic career from this moment.

In 2001, At the age of 28, Oliver was hired to San Francisco University of the Arts. With outstanding achievements, he served as a professor of art in the School of Fine Arts and 2 D Animation.

From enjoying painting to professor of art

Passionate about art from an early age, Oliver began learning to draw at the age of three. Although many people like graffiti since childhood, and painters prefer painting when they are young, Oliver likes portraits rather than graffiti. As young as 3 years old children, Sketching became his favorite form of expression.

Live to be old and learn to be old.

After Oliver finished all his studies in Hong Kong, he graduated from high school and moved directly to the United States to further study painting in the United States. Perhaps Oliver was talented. During the years of in-depth study of painting, he learned the basic skills of sketching very solidly, and there was no fancy technical training, which was a deep understanding and expression of portraits.

After graduation, Oliver was hired back as a professor in the painting department of the school.

"Portrait painting is something I practice regularly as an art professor and as a hobby, and it is also my favorite form of expression."

-Oliver Sheen

Although he has a status symbol, he still insists on creating.

After 2011, he was a teacher, but everyone was a teacher. Oliver made acquaintances including Zhaoming Wu, Henry Yen and Zhongwei Qian Excellent painter, Learning is a journey with no end, and you will always find something new every other way.

Teaching and learning, Oliver strengthened his deep understanding of painting in the exchange and study of painting. He Pay more attention to capturing the instant expressions of characters, and pay more attention to the precise composition of figurative portraits.

A seemingly ordinary change makes He has made a qualitative improvement to his creation!

His paintings.

Oliver's sketch is simple, a piece of charcoal You can depict the character's shape, the relationship between black, white and gray, and all the details of facial features very vividly. According to the weight of the strength and the change of the thickness of the pen tip, this requires Oliver's skilled techniques and profound creative skills.

Success is not just the result of hard work. Oliver was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts at the age of 17, although he soon became a teacher and professor in the school. But it took him 15 years to study and study, and he was able to make a mark in the society.

During the rest, he constantly practiced his understanding of human body structure, and there was no end. It seemed that every time he painted, he had a new understanding, so in his current creation, Oliver can quickly capture the changes of the model's shape and demeanor, which is just a simple sketch exercise.

Because I wanted to, I won the national gold medal.

In When Oliver was 17 years old, he studied painting in the United States. Since then, he rarely saw his parents. On one of his parents' birthdays, Oliver had a whim to use his major to paint a portrait of his parents.

In 2018, with An 80 x 60 Portrait of Mom , won the finalist award of the Portrait Society of America's annual International Art Grand Prix.

In 2021, A Portrait of Dad , won the first prize in the painting competition of the Portrait Association International Art Competition, and the "Signature Artist Status" of the National Portrait Association.

▲ Portrait of Mom Charcoal, 24 x 18 inches; Won the "Finalist" Award of the American Portrait Society's 2018 International Art Competition

▲ Portrait of Dad 17 x 14 inches; Won the "First Prize in Painting" and "Audience Choice Award" in the 2020 International Art Competition of the American Portrait Society

From the formal acquaintance of outstanding painters including Wu Zhaoming, Yan Henry and Qian Zhongwei, Oliver's paintings have changed differently.

When drawing portraits for his parents, he said that sketch is not a kind of reproduction. Although sketch is the foundation of painting, it can express too many things!

When we tried to paint each model well, we didn't think so, but when Oliver painted it for his parents, he deeply realized Techniques for capturing mood and mood in portraits and figures.

He left behind An unforgettable experience, a valuable opportunity to reconnect through art, which added a beautiful touch to his life.

▲ Portrait of Virginia Woolf, charcoal, 17 x 14 inches; Commissioned by Time's "100 Women of the Year" project (March 8, 2020)

Sketching is an exercise in life, and it will unconsciously reveal its light.

Do the basic skills to the extreme! Creativity also improves.

Oliver's first art work, Sketch of Artist's Head, has been translated and published in many countries, and it was commissioned by Time magazine, and appeared on the cover of the magazine's "100 Women of the Year" project in March 2020.

And more and more exhibition invitations and exchanges with famous artists and paintings emerge in endlessly, With his solid and vivid sketch creation, he has gained a large number of fans and supporters, not only in his study, but also outside his class.

Excellence is a habit

Enjoy more about Oliver's sketches

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