Featured artist: Hsin-Yao Tseng
Above and Towards the Bay, 18x24, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
San Francisco-based artist Hsin-Yao Tseng brings a contemporary energy to the tradition of oil painting. From expressive portraits to atmospheric cityscapes, his award-winning work reflects a constant curiosity and desire to explore.
Overlooking the Bay Bridge, 36x36, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: San Francisco has so many recognizable landmarks and views. How do you make a familiar scene feel personal, as you did in Overlooking the Bay Bridge?
This is a view near my studio in San Francisco, CA, and I love taking a walk to this spot and simply watching the sunset. For me, making a familiar scene feel personal is less about the landmark itself and more about capturing the mood, light, and emotion. In Overlooking the Bay Bridge, I wanted to convey the quiet, reflective feeling I experience when I’m there; I intended to capture the strong late-afternoon light hitting the middle-ground buildings and keep the foreground simple and abstract. Those personal moments are what make a familiar place feel fresh and meaningful to me.
Kitchen de Churreria El Moro, CDMX, 18x24, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: What do you enjoy most about painting portraits compared to landscapes, and what unique challenges do each present?
I enjoy painting portraits as much as I enjoy landscapes. What I enjoy most about painting portraits is the challenge of capturing the spirit and character of a person and what’s beyond and behind them. I especially enjoy observing the model, their expressions, gestures, and subtle qualities, and trying to translate that sense of individuality onto the canvas. It’s not simply about creating a likeness, but about capturing something of the person’s presence. And how the background and the surrounding elements reflect in the person.
On the other hand, painting landscapes is about being fully present in a particular moment and place. I love observing the changing light, atmosphere, and colors and trying to capture that fleeting experience on the canvas. Each landscape holds a specific moment in time, and painting it allows me to preserve that feeling and memory.
Goodnight Tokyo, 20x16, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: How much does the mood of a place influence your color choices? Do you stay true to what you see, or let color become more interpretive?
The mood of a place completely dictates my color choices. While I use observed light as a starting point, I rarely limit myself to literal representation. Color is one of the most expressive tools an artist has, and I view it as a language of atmosphere and emotion.
When painting, I choose color schemes that convey what the moment felt like rather than just how it looked. Whether that means pushing warmth, shifting values, or exaggerating contrast, I adjust the palette to heighten the presence and feeling of the environment.
Alone in Tokyo, 12x9, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: How has teaching workshops influenced your own growth as an artist, and what do you hope students take away from their time with you?
Teaching workshops is a deeply rewarding experience that fuels my own growth as an artist. Every encounter with a new group of painters, whether local or from around the world, is unique to me. I discover something new every single time I teach, and I always leave a workshop feeling re-energized and inspired for my own studio practice.
While I want my students to walk away with solid technical skills, my main goal is for them to feel the freedom to play with paint and enjoy the process. I strive to create an open, joyful atmosphere where students can build confidence, embrace experimentation, and reconnect with the pure fun of creating.
City Progression, 30x30, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: Has your work evolved since you first started painting, and what changes do you see most in your style today?
Absolutely. Early in my career, my focus was centered on academic training and classical realism, building a strong foundation in accurate representation. Over time, my style has evolved toward a more expressive, representational approach.
Today, I emphasize painterly brushwork, rich texture, and diverse mark-making, rather than capturing every detail or exact likeness. I paint the subject's essence. I focus on the tactile quality of the paint itself and the freedom of expressing a scene through bold, intentional strokes.
Fish Boats, Half Moon Bay, CA, 9x12, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: What is it about a scene or subject that makes you want to paint it? Is it usually the light, the composition, the mood, or something harder to define?
It can truly be anything! From the way light and shadow interact, to a compelling color mood, to an underlying story waiting to be told.
Before picking up a brush, I spend a lot of time simply observing, asking myself three core questions: What do I see? And what do I feel? Why am I painting this? For me, painting is never about merely copying a subject to make it look realistic. It's an active process of decision-making, where every choice is guided by what I genuinely want to convey to the viewer.
Coyoacan Market, Mexico City, 16x16, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: The annual showcase currently on view at Insight Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas has become a tradition for you. When you see your paintings together in one space, do you notice connections between them that you didn’t necessarily see while you were creating them?
Each year, I aim to bring together a cohesive body of work for the annual showcase at Insight Gallery. This year’s collection focuses on my travels through different cities, incorporating figures interacting within their environments to create a sense of place and story.
When my paintings are hung together in one space, subtle connections often emerge that I didn't consciously plan while working in the studio. Sometimes collectors and viewers spot recurring themes or offer interpretations I hadn't considered, and I love that. That’s the beauty of visual art: a painting never has just one answer, and seeing the work on display allows those broader conversations to begin.
River Thames Orange Reflection, 36x36, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: How did you discover Ampersand, and what do you love most about painting on our panels?
I was first introduced to Ampersand during my student days at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and they’ve been part of my process ever since.
The smooth surface of Gessobord is a joy to paint on; it gives me the freedom to lay down crisp, bold brushstrokes one moment and quietly soften edges the next. Because the panel holds up so well to different tools, I can push my mark-making further and bring out rich, interesting textures that wouldn't be possible on a softer stretched canvas.
Artist Bio:
Hsin-Yao Tseng was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and currently lives and works in San Francisco, CA.
Hsin-Yao was recognized as an ARC Living Master by the Art Renewal Center in 2014 and earned Signature Status from the Portrait Society of America in 2018.
Painting primarily in oil, Tseng works in a romantic, expressive manner that honors classical Western traditions while infusing them with an edgy, contemporary complexity. Driven by a deep curiosity and energy for innovation, his work spans a dynamic range of subjects—from lush, atmospheric cityscapes and expressive portraits to evocative narrative interiors, figurative scenes, and vibrant floral explorations. His practice balances observational mastery with bold experimentation, pushing past immediate trends to capture something timeless and deeply authentic.
Over his career, Tseng has received numerous national and international accolades, including First Place in Southwest Art Magazine’s Artist Excellence Competition (2016), as well as top awards from the Portrait Society of America’s International Portrait Competition and the ARC Salon. His paintings have graced the covers of Southwest Art Magazine (November 2016) and The Artist’s Magazine (December 2012).
Tseng exhibits extensively across the United States, Europe, and Taiwan. His work has been featured at the European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM) in Barcelona, Spain, and sold at Sotheby’s New York Contemporary Art Auctions in 2020 and 2022. To see more of Hsin-Yao's work, visit his website and Instagram.
