Martin Fan Cheng, 92, Lawrence, Kansas, died December 15, 2023 at LMH Health. He was born May 4, 1931 in Anhui province China. His family then fled to Chongqing, Sichuan province during the Sino-Japanese War. In 1949 he moved to Taiwan, where he received a degree in Civil Engineering from National Taiwan University. In 1958 he came to the US, where he earned a degree in Aeronautical Engineering and Mathematics from The University of Minnesota, followed by a Ph.D. degree in Mathematics from The University of Kansas. In 1980 he completed a BFA degree from the same university and then an MFA degree from The University of Washington.
For most of his life he was a watercolor artist in Lawrence, KS and was widely known for his meticulous, detailed and realistic-looking watercolor paintings. His artistic work was influenced by fishing, one of his beloved hobbies, through which he became intrigued by the glistening presence of fish and he persisted in his quest to βto paint the real world as we see it.β Along with his interest in fish, his work incorporates the significance of food as a Chinese cultural obsession and focuses on fish and other Chinese food in a life-size or larger format paintings. Survivors include his daughter Christine Cheng of Millcreek, UT, son Ian Cheng of Albuquerque, NM, and three grandchildren.
No services are planned at this time.
