Lian Zhen was a physician in Canton Province, China, until 1985 when he immigrated to the United States. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1992 and a master's degree in architecture from MIT in 1996.
Zhen has been sketching and painting since he was 10 years old. In 1992, he began to display his paintings in one-man shows. He has had many shows in the United States and China, and has developed an international following. His paintings hang in numerous institutional and private collections, including the MIT Museum, which has collected 14 of his paintings.
Lian Zhen is the author of Chinese Watercolor Techniques for Exquisite Flowers, Chinese Watercolor Techniques: Painting Animals, Chinese Painting Techniques for Exquisite Watercolor, and other books. He taught watercolor at the University of California at Berkeley for eight years and now offers workshops internationally.