Chinese Gongbi painting has a long history, stretching back almost 1,600 years. I have been in love with this art style since my high school years. Portrait and figure paintings specifically interest me because they allow me to search the souls as they are reflected through people’s appearances and gestures. When I observe and depict my objects, connections take form between them and I. No matter what their status are in real life, I can see the individuals’ authentic beings through mindful observation and conscious feeling. My portrait/figure painting is a way of revealing the states of mind that are shared by human beings in general-the continual seeking of happiness, fulfillment of dreams, and the concern of mortality and eternity… Chinese philosophy of art incorporates the belief that art is meditation, a state of communing with artists themselves and with the Supreme Being.

      Chinese painting is executed on silk or on Xuan paper. Both silk and Xuan paper were developed in ancient China. Only carefully handmade brushes from animal hair, such as goat, rabbit or weasel, are adapted to such fine, sensitive art style. These materials are essential to draw the elegant lines and apply the layers of gentle, graceful colors which are central to Gongbi painting. The materials and techniques allow me to explore the deep feelings that form our inner selves.

      Chinese painting is painted with water-based pigments; western people also call it as Chinese watercolor. As a matter of fact, Chinese Painting is rooted in the old Chinese culture and philosophy. The artistic tastes, style, and techniques are quite different from regular watercolor.

      Rooted in China’s profound cultural soil, also deeply influenced by Western arts, especially the Renaissance art, my art shows a blending of Eastern and Western style-a feature of the cultural Universality. The source of my art is a huge foundation of Eastern and Western civilization.