Meet Bridget Zhong | Painter & Tattoo artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bridget Zhong and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bridget, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
I think the most important decision I made was keeping using traditional mediums for my work even though digital mediums were trending. Especially after AI became popular, the art industry began to recognize the value of physical artworks more. During covid I did try creating digital art for some of my online classes, but the more I make digital images the more I wanted to go back to physical paints. Therefore, as soon as I was back in my studio, I started painting again, It eventually paid off after I graduate as my portfolio had a consistent personal style that stood out from a lot of others.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I always have a passion in painting realistic portraits. It was definitely hard to keep the paintings going during college because a lot of times I could barely meet the deadlines for my assignments unlike a lot of my peers who were using digital mediums to make graphic illustrations. I have also heard a lot of discouraging comments regarding how painting photo-realistically is not considered “art” anymore. I eventually was able to ignore other people’s opinions on my works and turned them into my motivation. I spent most of my senior year at my studio inviting people in to make life paintings and doing figure studies. My work was paid off as I got my first full-time job as a painting assistant for a famous contemporary painter. After that, I got an apprenticeship to work at a tattoo studio that I liked. I want people to know that sometimes even if it seems like you’re swimming against the tide all by yourself, hard work will pay off if you push through and have faith in yourself.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take them to the neighborhood in Chelsea, Manhattan. First I would visit the Whitney Museum and some small galleries in the area. After the gallery tour, we would go to Chelsea market to try Los Tacos No.1, which is the best taco place in the city in my opinion (they also have grilled cactus tacos!). For dessert, I would walk them to Aubi & Ramsa, which is a bar that serves alcohol infused ice cream. Little Island is also one of my favorite spots in the city. In the evening we would climb up the hills to watch the sunset in the amphitheater.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d love to thank my parents for believing in me and supporting me financially through college. I always knew that choosing art as my career path was not what they expected me to do, but they wanted me to do what would make me happy. I owe everything I have achieved so far to them. I also want to shoutout to my college professors who never stopped challenging me and convincing me that I am a talented artist. There had been times when I would always compare my work to my classmates and feel that they were not good enough. My professors were there to help me to refocus on my self growth.

Website: bridgetzly.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bridget_zly

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/bridget-zhong-183236187