Chien Chung-Wei is a Taiwanese watercolorist who early in his career emulated the painstakingly detailed methods of 19th century European watercolor painters like William Henry Hunt and Myles Birket Foster, but as his career progressed moved to a looser, more open style emphasizing the gesture and light of his subjects.
He most often paints urban scenes and architectural subjects, capturing the play of light with fresh, clear color and a superb balance of free brushstrokes and sharp, controlled edges.
On his website, you will find galleries of recent work, as well as a selection of early work in his previous style (accessed from a drop-down menu at upper right).
I particularly like the work in his “Demo” section, which I presume is done even more quickly than his studio pieces. In these, he often takes on very humble subjects, finding in them a variety of patterns of light and shadow, as well as contrasts of muted and higher chroma color.
Chien Chung-Wei occasionally tours the US doing workshops. You can find some time-compressed demos on YouTube, along with video samplers of his work.
