Mingyang Zhang

Courtesy of the artist and ARC.

The Artist Award and Third Place Portraiture in the 17th International ARC Salon® online exhibition;

17th & 18th International ARC Salon® Exhibition at Sotheby's New York, July 17-27, 2026.

Art Renewal Center, International Realism: 17th & 18th International ARC Salons (Woodbridge, UK: ACC Art Books Ltd, 2026), pp. 46, 93, illustrated.

“I really admire masterpieces from the 17th to the 18th centuries. They had fantastic ways to show the different textures of clothing and people’s skin. Specifically, I study their techniques for illustrating the texture of velvet materials. It is so realistic; it is as if I can feel the fabric. Inspired by those masterpieces, I am eager to try the techniques in my own work. Thus, this portrait piece was created. I used a ‘cross’ composition to highlight the profile of the girl's face. In terms of the texture of the character's clothing, I focused on depicting the different textures of cotton and velvet under light. At the same time, I kept the background simple to keep the girl instead of the background as the focus point. In terms of color, the large area of warm red and the slight cold color on the skin form a subtle contrast relationship, making the colors of the painting more balanced and comfortable.” – Mingyang Zhang