GLOBAL COLLECTORS ART PRIZE | MASTERS DEFINING THE FUTURE OF ART

Biography

Ming Franz is an exceptional artist with a style that demands attention. Her "splash" painting technique, which combines watercolor with Asian black ink, is truly mesmerizing. She has also ventured into acrylics on watercolor paper and panels, creating abstract masterpieces that have garnered much acclaim. Her talent has been recognized with numerous awards, including the coveted Grand Prize in International Artist Magazine's Challenge in Abstract/Experimental Art. If you appreciate colorful and innovative art, you cannot miss Ming Franz's work.

She was born in southern Taiwan and grew up on a sugar plantation, where her father worked as a steam engine engineer. Her mother is a music teacher. She started painting when she was eight years old with her neighbor, Mr. Tsai, an art teacher. Mr. Tsai taught her to work with crayons, pencils, charcoal, and watercolor. He also took her to other villages to paint and hike and taught her how to observe nature.

As a child, she also had to hike many miles to school. She continued hiking and is still an avid hiker today. She has hiked many mountains around the world, which has fueled her passion for nature, especially mountains, waterfalls, streams, rivers, trees, and birds. “I have become a landscape painter because that is part of my life.”

Over the years, Ming has studied with masters of traditional Chinese painting and watercolor in Taiwan and studied watercolor and acrylic while living in the US.

In the 1990s, she fell in love with splash ink painting and studied with Master Paul Pei Ren Hau, a friend and student of Master Chang Dai-Chien, as well as through the teachings of Professor Arthur Mu Seng Kao of San Jose State University: East meets West in art.

Ming teaches workshops and conducts demonstrations at the New Mexico Art League, the University of New Mexico, and in her Edgewood, New Mexico, studio. In addition to her teaching, both in groups and privately, her book "Splash Ink with Watercolor" inspires many artists.

Her teaching has brought her to venues in Houston, Texas; Wichita, Kansas; Chicago, Illinois; the Silicon Valley Asian Art Center; the Denver Art Museum; the Artist's Materials Expo in Santa Fe, New Mexico; the World of Color Expo in Herndon, Virginia; and Pacific Northwest Art School in Washington. She has also taught at La Romita School of Art in Italy, Le Vieux Couvent and the Perigord retreat in France, the Cotswolds in the UK, and on art tours in Japan and Taiwan. She will be going to Tuscany, Italy, and Malaga, Spain, in 2027.

Ming's art has been featured in numerous publications, including Acrylic Artist Magazine, Acrylic Illumination, American Art Collector, International Artist Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine, the North Light book series, Artist's Magazine, Studio Visit Magazine, Kennedy Publishing Magazine, Albuquerque Journal, Mountain Valley Telegraph, San Jose Mercury-News, and Asian World Journal.

Ming is a Signature Member of the New Mexico Watercolor Society and was formerly a certified Artist and Educator with Golden Paints. She is currently a Silver Brush Company-certified Artist and Educator. She is a New Mexico Local Treasure.

Artist Statement

Ming Franz exemplifies the unique beauty of contemporary Asian-American art. Over the years, she has mastered the powerful and evocative medium of Splash Color Painting.

Drawing inspiration from Taiwan's lush forests, Ming developed an early passion for nature. She uses her vast knowledge of the natural world to transform abstract ink forms into works of art. Her adaptive style allows the splashes of colored ink to have their own voice. Swirls of ink are transformed into mountains, clouds, waterfalls, seashores, and forests, with birds and wildflowers leaping from the paintings.

Website: https://mingfranzstudio.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ming.franz
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ming-franz

Oct 7 Ming Franz

Oct 7 Christina Mitterhuber

Oct 7 Jose Oliveira