Biography

Hongshu Lei was born in Shangdong Province, China, in the city of Jinan, known as the Fountain City. Hongshu’s relationship with art, especially with fine art painting, began in her childhood, as her parents are both artists and were often bringing her to museums, or showing her vivid and colorful paintings in books.  By learning stories about artists and their masterpieces, she was deeply attracted to painting and the possibilities of pursuing the life of an artist. After graduating from high school in Jinan, Hongshu attended Xiamen University, in Southeast China, far away from her home. Initially, she majored in Environmental Art and Design, but was exposed to Architectural Studies, during her junior year, when she enrolled in an exchange program at Central Saint Martins College, University of Arts London.

After graduating from University, Hongshu worked as an architect for one year, but she always held onto her childhood vision, to someday become a fine artist. Thanks to the encouragement from her family, Hongshu changed her life’s direction from design, to immerse herself into fine art and pursue a Master of Fine Art degree in Painting, at the Academy of Art University, in San Francisco. Now, through her carefully crafted and thoughtful paintings, Hongshu Lei is living her dream of being a professional artist.