Wang Yongqiang, born 1945 in Shanghai has been very fond of painting since childhood. In 1960 he attended the Shanghai Academy of Art and specialized in the study of oil painting. In 1965, he was appointed assistant director and professor of the oil painting studio at the Shanghai Oil Painting and Sculpture Academy and also became a member of the Chinese Artist Association. Between 1988 and 1991, he took part in an artist exchange programme to do research at the Ontario College of the Art.
Wang Yongqiang has come a long way in his endless artistic pursuit. He has gained deep artistic experience through his study of Russian drawings in the1960's and his research of European and North American painting skill in the 1970's-80's. His creative subject matter is very broad, particularly in his series of historical themed pictures where the difficulty level is high with many characters, varied images, and vast scenes to tackle. In his works we can see profound portrayal of the character's inner world, rigorous composition, vivid figures, rich color, and also very extraordinary expression. In his unrelenting artistic pursuit, his historical themed oil painting works - consisting both of touching yet beautiful historical folklore which has circulated till now, as well as the great peasant uprising scene - have gradually formed his own style.
Although painter Wang Yongqiang lives long-term in Canada, he is still deeply rooted in the Chinese culture. He has utilized the North American realism oil painting skill, with vigorous bold brush technique to create the images of Kangxi, Qianlong, Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, Cai Wenji and so on. His paintings have been exhibited in both domestic and foreign exhibitions. His works are also collected by numerous individual and institutional collectors in China, North America, Hong Kong, Taiwan and throughout Southeast Asia.
In this recent work "Dream Crane", several innocent looking ancient young girls, a group of lovely red-crowned crane at a summit dotted with green grass and wild flowers bathed in the spring sunlight, with a vast blue mountain at a distance are pictured. The different elements fit in as a whole and jointly display the beauty of nature; the painter carries with him good desire and ideals to portray an aspect of life.
In the picture we can see a highly skilled use of back light technique. By emphasizing the transparency of the reflection of skylight and lawn, the entire picture seems to be covered under the warm sunlight. and it takes the audience into a tranquil, beautiful, cheerful realm often depicted in poem.