A Portrait of the Artist: Hiu Lai Chong

Hiu Lai Chong, Gaithersburg resident, resident artist at VisArts in Rockville and featured in multiple museum shows across the country, paints marinas, train stations, baseline satellite arrays, inserting herself into the heart of her subject matter.

With multiple awards and gallery and museum shows already under her belt, oil painter Hiu Lai Chong only resigned from her full time career as a video game artist last year. She is a resident artist at VisArts in Rockville and paints there full time when she is not on a plein air outing. When she is able to set aside some time, she gives painting workshops for students and will be teaching in the Curacao Plein Air Festival in late August 2011 and a three-day painting workshop in November at VisArts.

"You have to work harder than anyone else and then you will get better," said the artist who has produced well over 100 paintings in the past year. Although her studio is covered in paintings from the last two years or so, most of her work is away on loan.

"I am always in competition with myself. If this painting is better than the last painting, what more could I ask for."

Found object artist is ‘Found’ for Rockville gallery show

Silver Spring artist Frank Kowing draws upon Native American Heritage for his work

Silver Spring artist Frank Kowing knows good art when he sees it. But sometimes he sees it in unlikely things, such as twigs, trashed cell phones or broken light blubs.

By incorporating found objects into his artwork, Kowing hopes to comment on culture by showing the things people discard, while making ties to his Native American heritage.

Kowing is one of three artists featured in the “Found in Rockville” exhibition opening today at the VisArts Center in Rockville and running through Sept. 13. The exhibit also features works by artists Olena Lar and Sandi Atkinson.

The artists featured in the “Found in Rockville” exhibit were “found” during the search for artists to take part in last month’s VisArts exhibit titled “Hidden Rockville,” which displayed the work of seven little-known local artists, says gallery director Brett Johnson. Because these three artists had special talents, VisArts offered them another opportunity to show.