Our Faculty

As the founder of Ichen Art Academy, Ichen has been practicing Chinese painting and calligraphy as well as western style painting for over 30 years. She has been teaching Chinese painting and calligraphy at Ichen Art Studio since 1997. She has a BFA degree in Fine Arts and Interior Design from University of Dayton in Ohio. Her students have won many awards in regional, state, national and international competitions. Ichen teaches Chinese Painting and Calligraphy classes at Ichen Art Academy.

Jonathan is a Senior Concept Artist currently working full time in the video games industry, where he designs characters and creatures for the MMORPG "New World". He graduated from the Academy of Art University in 2013 with a BFA in Illustration, where he has also taught classes for the Illustration, Foundations, and Game Development departments. Experience working in mobile games, pc and console games, visual development for animation, and illustration.

Jonathan teaches intermediate Digital Art classes at Ichen Art Academy.

Yan is a freelance Visual Development Artist, Background Artist, and Illustrator specializing in Background Paint, Background Design, Prop Design, Color Key, and Illustration. He has collaborated with companies including Infinity Animation Studios, iQ Pictures, INC Animations, and Manguray Productions. After earning his BFA in Visual Development from Academy of Art University, Yan has built a career balancing professional art work with youth leadership at Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ), where he guides and educates children of various ages. His diverse project experience has fostered strong self-discipline and a passion for art, while emphasizing the importance of healthy relationships and positive collaboration with peers and students. At Ichen Art Academy, Yan teaches Digital Illustration (Cartoon, Manga and Character Design), Drawing and Sketch Level 1 and Level 2-Basics.

Jeffrey received his BFA degrees in Illustration and Computer Arts from the Academy of Art University. He is traditionally trained in various mediums and is knowledgeable in several graphic art applications. He has worked as an art teacher’s assistant for beginners, intermediate and advanced high school students. He was a freelance motion graphic designer/illustrator for a tech company and worked as a flash artist/illustrator for an online Facebook game. His works have been featured/printed by NBC Sports Bay Area and has done spot illustrations for The Official GIANTS magazine. He is also one of the comic book/cover artists for the independent fil-am comic book, LUMPIA with a Vengeance.

Jeffrey teaches Drawing and Sketch Level 1 and Level 2 classes at Ichen Art Academy.

Jeffrey grew up in the Philippines and moved to California at age eleven. After high school, he served in the military for eight and a half years, where he applied his artistic talents creating command logos and military-themed murals. Using the Post-911 GI Bill, Jeffrey earned his BFA in 2020 and completed his MFA in Painting/Drawing from Academy of Art University in 2023. His works have been featured in multiple Spring Shows and Veteran Art Exhibits. His current series, West Coast Scapes, consists of oil paintings depicting landscapes, cityscapes, cloudscapes, and seascapes from California, Oregon, and Washington State, highlighting the therapeutic effects of these natural settings through his distinctive brushwork and color palette. Jeffrey has also contributed to several collaborative mural projects in San Francisco. At Ichen Art Academy, he teaches DS1, DS2-Basics, DS2, DS23, and Oil Painting classes.

Ron is a professional CGI Artist with 5 years experience in the video game industry. As a Lead 3D Artist at IGG, he had contributed in multiple successful video games titles such as Lords Mobile, Castle Clash and Brave Conquest. Ron is enthusiastic about art making and sharing knowledge about art. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, video games and traditional sculpting.

Ron graduated from San Jose State University 3D Animation/Illustration BFA program.He teaches 3D Modeling with Maya classes at Ichen Art Academy.

Sean is a concept artist, illustrator and fine-artist who is traditionally trained in various mediums, including charcoal, ink, oil, and digital mediums. He received his MFA in Visual Development at the Academy of Art University in 2017. He received MFA Small Works Award at the Academy of Art Spring Show. He has worked on multinational sci-fi movie production “Iron Sky: The Ark” as a concept artist and production artist. He also worked on various tv shows, video games and virtual reality project serving in various roles in the production pipeline.

Justin is a concept artist and illustrator with expertise across digital 2D, 3D, and traditional media. He graduated from San José State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Animation/Illustration and a concentration in Visual Development. Justin has worked as a 2D Artist on LEGO Fortnite, and as a freelance artist on a variety of other projects: indie TV animation, indie games, coloring books, and a park renovation in San José! Justin teaches Drawing and Sketch Level 2 at Ichen Art Academy.

Mingchien is a seasoned art instructor and artist. She has taught many courses such as Oriental Brush Painting, The Art of Drawing and East Asian Art History at the Chinese Cultural Center in Boston, Dept. of Art and Science, Wheelock College and Worcester Art Museum. Mingchien has a MA in Art History from University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She teaches Drawing and Sketch level 2 and Watercolor classes at Ichen Art Academy.

Derek is a fine-art painter and illustrator who works with a variety of mediums, such as charcoal, ink, acrylic and oil paints. He graduated from the Academy of Art University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a concentration in painting, and works as a freelance illustrator and muralist. He also works at a nonprofit multidisciplinary arts center called The Flight Deck in downtown Oakland as a visual arts core-member, doing work ranging from gallery curation, public outreach and activist work, and set artistry.

Derek teaches Drawing I & II at Ichen Art Academy.

Mark is primarily an oil painter. He has many years of experience as an exhibiting artist and art instructor. Mark Roberts received his bachelor’s degree in graphic design at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Later, he continued his formal art education at the California Art Institute. At the Institute, analyzing the visual world in terms of shapes, values and edges was heavily stressed. This teaching has been with him ever since. Roberts earned his Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where he has taught figure drawing for the illustration department from 2005 – 2014. Presently, Roberts teaches drawing and design at Las Positas College in Livermore.

Mark teaches Drawing and Sketch 2 and 23 classes at Ichen Art Academy.

Ken is an artist and animator who specializes in both traditional hand-drawn, as well CG Character Animation. He has produced work such as Concept Art, Character Design, UI, Graphic Design, 3D Modeling, Rigging, Texturing, and Animation for Social Media, Short Films, and Games since 2015. He graduated from the Academy of Art University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a focus on Animation & VFX and is currently working remotely for several studios that produce short films and game projects.

Kendrick teaches Drawing and Sketch Level 2, Level 23 and AP Art Prep at Ichen Art Academy.

Christina is a freelance character designer and illustrator, as well as a small business owner. She graduated from ArtCenter College of Design with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Entertainment Design and minoring in Creative Writing.

While attending ArtCenter, Christina worked as a teaching assistant and interned for Warped Worlds Entertainment, an indie game studio that develops live action immersive experiences. She was a concept artist, script writer, and voice actor on ChromaCorp, which went on to win the Best Live Action Award at IndieCade 2025 and Best AltCtrl Game at the Game Developer’s Conference 2025.

Christina specializes in 2D digital softwares, but has been a traditional illustrator for most of her life. She is a jack of all trades, with experience working with watercolors, acrylics, oils, graphite, charcoal, linograph printing, and ceramics.

Christina teaches CCA and DS1B at Ichen Art Academy.

Ryan, our Artist in Residence, is an award-winning painter who teaches our most advanced classes (Drawing and Sketch III, Oil Painting, and AP Art). Born into a family of artists in California, he earned his BFA from Academy of Art University in San Francisco, specializing in oil painting and charcoal rendering after exploring various mediums. His digital painting skills enable him to provide real-time visual instruction in online classes. Ryan has received gold keys as a teacher for fostering exemplary student performance, while his students have won numerous awards including gold medals and national recognition in Scholastic Arts competitions. He has successfully guided students through portfolio development for college admissions, with many accepted to top art schools including CalArts, ArtCenter, Ringling, PRATT, RISD, and Chicago Art Institute.

Tess is an artist and classical drawing and painting instructor. She loves working in charcoal, oil, graphite, watercolor, and Photoshop. Tess received her BFA in drawing and painting at the Laguna College of Art & Design, then continued her studies at the Golden Gate Atelier in Oakland, CA. Tess has taught art to all ages and skill levels, from kindergarten through high school, to classical drawing and painting for adults. She currently works as a freelance artist, taking painting commissions, working as a visual development artist for animation, and designing textiles. Tess teaches Drawing and Sketch Level 23/Level 3 as well as Oil Painting at Ichen Art Academy.

David is a Fine Art painter with 10+ years of experience in a variety of mediums. Since 2014, he has been teaching Foundations classes at the Academy of Art University, where he received both MFA and BFA in painting.

David teaches Drawing and Sketch Level 23/Level 3, Oil Painting and AP Art Prep at Ichen Art Academy.

A native of San Jose, California, Joevic demonstrated a strong interest in drawings at a young age, influenced by his father’s drawings and sketches. In 2012, he received his BFA from the Academy of Art University, with a degree in fine arts.

Joevic paints primarily with oil, focusing on Bay Area cities as his subject matter. His paintings have been part of many group shows in the Bay Area and his work has been sought out by collectors throughout the country. In 2012, he was featured in Southwest Art Magazine’s, “emerging artist” issue. Joevic currently paints full time in his studio in Oakland, CA and teaches part time at The Academy of Art University. He teaches Drawing and Sketch Level 2, Level 23, Oil Painting and AP Art Prep at Ichen Art Academy.

Kevin is a graduate of ArtCenter College of Design, where he earned his degree in Entertainment Design. During his time at ArtCenter, he served as a peer coach, helping fellow students improve in various subjects. He also worked on a one-year contract project, contributing to the creation of a planetarium show for the West Coast’s most famous observatory, the Griffith.

Kevin teaches 3D Art with Blender and Advanced Digital Art and Design (Intermediate/Advanced) courses at Ichen Art Academy.

Wendy is an experienced graphic artist, specialized in animation design and web graphic design. From 1995 to 1997, she worked at World Journal New York branch on advertisement and graphic design.

Wendy teaches Children’s Creative Art and DS1-Basics class at Ichen Art Academy.