Hsi-Mei Yates was born and raised in and around Taipei, Taiwan. Since early childhood she showed a fascination and talent for art and won many awards for her artwork during her school years. She showed an increased aptitude for painting, as she grew older and upon graduation, she was hired as an artist by the China Art Company, a company known internationally for its exquisite hand painted ceramic products. At the China Art Company, Hsi-Mei further developed and refined her techniques and painting skills through individual study with many renowned Chinese artists. She studied the brush strokes of bamboo with Chi K’ang and Chung Shou-jen, flowers and birds with Chao Sung-ch’uan and Tu Teng-yin, landscapes with Shu Feng-nan and Ch’u Shan-ch’ing and calligraphy with Chin-Donn Lee.

Hsi-Mei entered the United States in 1983 and has continued her art endeavors. She has taught oriental watercolor painting in Washington, North Carolina and Virginia for the past 19 years. While visiting family members in the United States, Hsi-Mei met her husband, Vincent Yates, and she has traveled with him as his career has taken them to various stations throughout the United States and now to Stafford, Virginia.

Hsi-Mei’s style includes Sumi-e ink and unique oriental brush strokes. Her reverence for different landscapes, flowers, birds, insects, and fish have inspired her painting and have resulted in many awards from the local communities where she has lived. Her love of nature is evident in all of her art projects.