Becoming a professional artist has been Zhi Li’s dream since childhood. After graduating from an art and design university in Shangdong, China, she worked as a designer at an advertising agency, where she received a number of awards for her work. In 1998, Zhi says she moved to New York "to pursue the dream deeply rooted in my soul." She won a special grant to study oil painting at the Art Students League of New York. "I love painting still life - the concept, light, drama and beauty," she says. Her lush, blooming and often peak-ripe still lifes offer viewers a chance to appreciate the beauty of nature while also considering the fleetingness of the moment. Zhi continually focuses on accuracy, design, depth and drama in her art. She works from a studio on Riverside Boulevard in New York, overlooking the scenic Hudson River and Riverside Park.