Aiden, a junior at Saratoga High School, is a gifted artist with a passion for capturing the essence of life through his paintings. Aiden's artistic journey began at the age of four, under the mentorship of renowned Chinese artist, Duan Zhao Nan, at the Duan Art Studio. Starting with Chinese paintings, Aiden gradually explored various art forms, eventually finding his passion in the realm of oil painting. He works primarily in oils because of its forgiveness and ability to preserve vibrant colors even after it has cured. Although oil painting can be daunting, the artist maintains full control of the medium, making it significantly easier to work with than something like watercolor, where paint can fade when dried or spread to unwanted places.

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Subjects he paints include plein-air landscapes and birds. He enjoys plein-air painting because it encourages looser painting as speed is necessary to capture the light before it shifts. The speed aspect also leads to pieces being produced relatively quickly. Through immortalizing the scenes in painting, he hopes to bring more appreciation for more mundane parts of life. He finds birds a compelling subject because of the diverse shapes and colors and the interesting behaviors of different species. In his bird portraits, he aims to capture the intelligence of birds and endear them to viewers. Through exhibiting the endangered species, he hopes to bring awareness to help conserve the fraying bird population.
 
Besides artistic endeavors, Aiden is actively involved with the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter, advocating for environmental legislation. Aiden is also involved with the Youth Achieve Academy (YAA), where he makes graphic designs for their outreach, and the Youth Climate Action Team (YCATS), where he participates in local environmental initiatives.

 

Contact: aidenchen.art@gmail.com