Leon Zhan

09/04/2026

week 4 {march 26th} i was much slower and took my time on the blocking and feeling the laying of the first thicker layer of paint onto the surface. though in reflection it was fairly thin and almost too cautious. then realising i had 20min left i made a rapid dash of the remaining paint i had left on my palette made a wild version next to it. the wipe away was hilarious shoutout to henry for filming and somehow immediately summoning his entire high school class 😹😹😹 yep i left one velasquez to see what i can achieve in two sittings..

01/04/2026

01/04/2026

Rose Lillies {2026} Oil on linen

See this work in the flesh in my thesis show on view till April 10th at 1 Dock 72 Way, Brooklyn Navy Yards. Details linked on my profile.

Image Courtesy: Dylan Bosch

28/03/2026

i am graduating soon… please join me next Monday night for the opening of the Pratt 2026 MFA Thesis Show! I am still finishing it as we speak, but excited to share with you new alongside my peers. registration is required hit bio link. seeya soon :)

20/03/2026

ROUND 3: today i realised AGAIN how paint application and edge quality is truly king with velasquez. i’ve yet to finish it in 4hrs not because there isn’t enough time but because i spend too much time thinking about each thing with general attention. instead i’ve i focused on just the forehead and was very intentional with every stroke. i was thinking man i wish i had a bigger brush, but then i just made a smaller forehead, which greatly helped simplify the brush logic and sequence. also after this session i have a sneaky suspicion that this may potentially be in two sittings eek! or maybe not.

{{brush grip}}

maybe it’s just that his linen is much more toothy but i found that holding the brush to the neck and letting it lightly graze across the surface an effect way to not lay down too much paint and fill the troughs of the weave.

{{edge quality}}

the beauty of velasquez is the absolute perfection in edges. i need to master how he danced with the toothy surface im using mainly bristles. and he’s got some type of dry brush that flattens the paint without it going into the through a of the linen again.

{{next week}}

im going to address the eyes and nose. and piece it together with the forehead. maybe. blocking drawing in is very quick now, you really only need some rough thick lines and you can increase accuracy by decreasing the size of the line and using more paint bit by bit. also iphone photos obliterate details of the brush mark i need to bring some kind of camera to get the nuances.

did my ritual hang out with zorn, sargent and other favs.

17/03/2026

calla lilies

13/03/2026

week 2: {day 2} was able to get a better feel for handling paint. first block in took a careful 30-45min and the second one i let myself go and took 10min. still not there yet and didn’t finish in time. however the specifics to address are getting clearer.

{light}

i feel like velásquez laid down the paint in really one or two strokes to maintain the freshness of the paint hitting the dry surface. the way the paint catches the tooth of weave that creates that vitality in edges is destroyed the more you your brush touches it and turns into mush and fills the troughs of the linen. admittedly i overworked it and it got a bit too wet. i need to hit the exact colour and value from the get go. again velasquez did this as a study for another painting so it was pure simplicity in the most elegant and efficient manner.

{mid-tones}

i started with a darkish brown from last weeks wipe down. which ended up feeling a bit too cool. so made sure i had enough time to wash in a warmer burnt sienna for next week. the tempting value trap i fell for was establishing the darks a bit too dark and when I placed the light in i realised how deep the contrast was. i need to establish the highest key earlier so i don’t fall for this value bias.

{shadow}

interestingly the hair mass is quite devoid of edges except for the flicks of black of the hair. overall it feels like there was a soft slight wash overall and the flicks painted into. or he used a soft mop at some point.

there’s more to speak about but that’s it for now. i also think using an even toothier linen with a thinner prime could make this toothy edge quality easier to achieve. also going to try a method next week to make my paint drier for the flesh, was still a bit too wet. also i need to get a mahlstick i’ve highkey just been freehand flying, which has its pros and cons.

shoutout and and yay

06/03/2026

first one

04/03/2026

Pseuderanthemum Púrpura, Universidad de Puerto Rico, recinto de Río Piedras II {{2026}} Watercolour on Sargassum paper, 10.3 x 12.2”

01/03/2026

“Pseuderanthemum Púrpura, Universidad de Puerto Rico, recinto de Río Piedras” {{2026}} Watercolour on sargassum paper, 10.3 x 12.2”

Thank you to the incredible Fabiola {} for transforming sargassum into this handmade paper. Swipe to see the process she made for her research at UPR. She sourced the algae from Ocean Park Beach, rinsed, boiled for four hours to get the pulp, sun dried for a week, mixed shredded recycled paper, and made an absolute textural delight to paint on.

Funnily while visiting UPR the perfect plant found itself for the work [see last two photos] these ornamental Erantemo backdropped with a wall textured like the paper. Shouts to {} for linking worlds. Made this on my residency at {}

10/02/2026