Graduated from the Industrial Art School in Sofia with a painting degree under professor Ivan Angelov and professor Ivan Murkvichka. He creates mostly landscapes. Contributed towards the founding of the History Museum in Samokov and was one of its keepers. Today many of his canvases are owned by the museum and are a part of his permanent painting exhibition there. Well known paintings of his are the series names “ Landscapes from Rila” (1936), depicting mount Musala, Kupenite and others. Yonchev has been awarded a medal for social contributions twice in his life- one in 1921, and one in 1949. His alias originates from his birthplace- Kriskar (by Iskar) neighborhood in Samokov. He had the opportunity to visit Munich briefly, where the many exemplary works of European art have a huge influence on the young artist. His heart, however, is in Rila and he devotes his painting work to it. No other landscape artist is truer to the heart of this mountain than Kriskarets is. He is the only artist with a water monument dedicated to him- the Yonchev Lake. An avid tourist and mountaineer, he lives with his family throughout Rila all summer long. In his painting the mountain is full of light. A master of fine details, he manages to recreate the richness of colors and light of the Rila landscape in its entirety. This humble provincial artist manages to draw the attention of such harsh critics as Andrey Protich, Chavdar Mutafov, Sirak Skitnik, who at the time were the ones shaping the artistic trends.
*Encyclopedia of Fine Arts in Bulgaria, Volume I, Sofia, 1980, BSA
**Capital Library of Sofia, Biographies, Kriskarets : http://www.libsofia.bg/bibliografii/kriskarec/kris_1.htm
