Wang Yani ( WANG YAH nee) was born in southern China.
It is a
beautiful country with mountains, rivers, and all kinds of animals.
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Yani grew up in a loving family. Her father was an art
teacher and a
painter. He would take her to work with him, and she started drawing on
the wall of his studio when she was two and a half years old, so he
gave her some sheets of paper on which to draw. At first it was just
scribbling, but by the time she was three years old, her drawings and
paintings were realistic. They looked just like the object or animal
she was trying to draw.
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When she was four years old, her father gave her a pet
monkey. After
that, monkeys became her favorite subject to paint. She would make up
stories about her paintings. Sometimes she would listen to music while
she painted.
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When she was eight years old, her father, Wang
Shiqiang, gave up his
career as an artist because he was afraid his style of painting might
influence his daughter. He wanted her to develop her own style.
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He took her on tours of many countries to broaden her
experience. He
was very strict with her. He said that he had to be strict because of
her amazing talent and fame.
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Her paintings are known throughout the world. She has
shown her
paintings in China, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, and the United
States. The country of China even put one of her monkey paintings on a
postage stamp!
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You will enjoy reading more about Wang Yani in a book
written about her. The name of the book is A Young Painter, the life and painting of Wang Yani,
China's extraordinary young artist. It is written by Zheng Zhensun and
Alice Low.
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