Huang Yongyu,Born in 1924 in Fenghuang County, Hunan Province, Huang never went to a regular art school but he had talent and worked hard. He studied art and literature by himself and learnt from friends, society and life.

When he was young, Huang was famous for his prints, which used bold lines and an unconstrained style. Until the 1960s he devoted himself mainly to woodcuts. The period from the late 1950s to the middle 1960s marked the golden age of his woodcuts. His color woodcut prints, such as Ahshima and Spring Tide, were pleasant surprises to fellow artists with their strong folk flavor, pronounced ethnic characteristics and refreshing style.

Since the seventies, Huang has produced an abundance of colored ink paintings depicting landscapes, flowers and birds using freehand techniques. There are also human figures and scenes with humorous messages or historical allusions.

His fresh themes, bold strokes and dripping colors combine to make an original style in contemporary Chinese painting; while his unique style of using traditional Chinese painting techniques helped contribute to his fame. His caricatures and canvas paintings are also recognized as excellent. Plum blossoms and water lilies are two major subjects of Huang’s work and he has made up to 8,000 images depicting water lilies. Besides paintbrushes, Huang also uses branches, his fingers and dry pulp as painting tools. He paints with amazing speed and confidence. His folk works are particularly popular in other countries.

The People’s Art Press published his Collection of Woodcarvings of Huang Yongyu in 1956, and he has been covered in US magazine Time, and had works published by the Hong Kong Artist’s Press and the Hunan Art Press.