Lucong Lucong (aka Cong Hua Lu) is a contemporary American portrait painter. He was born on Feburary 22nd, 1978, in Shanghai, China, to Joy Wang and Yade Lu. At the age of 11 he immigrated to Muscatine, Iowa with his parents. An obsessive drawer all his life, he began teaching himself to paint in oils after graduating from the University of Iowa in 2000. His focus is exclusively the human figure, and his style is ever evolving yet umistakably unique and personal. In 2002 he had a brush with infamy with his painting "Self Portrait as a Martyr." In 2004 he was called a "rising star" by the Westword magazine. In 2005 he made SW Art magazine's annual list of twenty one artists to watch under the age of 31. In 2008 he was named as one of five "Today's Masters making their marks" by Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. http://www.lucong.com

Michelle Irene IV Oil on panel, 2009 24x36