Unchained Colors
Mooresville, NC
I am a self-taught artist. In June 2014, trying to distract my daughter from her cellphone, I suggested her to paint with me. We started on tiles and ceramics. For the fun of it, I posted them on Facebook. And to my surprise, people were buying my very first pieces.
Since then, I discovered my passion and talent, and have not stopped painting. Less than 7 years, I painted about two hundred pieces and sold approximately 80 domestically and internationally. My artworks are also currently displayed and sold in some prestigious galleries, such as Hickory Museum of Art, Four Corners Framing and Gallery, South End Kitchen Design Studio, Charlotte Art League, and Coffey and Thompson Gallery.
Five months before we stared to paint, in Central Park New York, on the back of the bench I sat, there was a little plaque saying To Romance Life, a Loved One or even Yourself, at the End, it will Become Art. Is it a sign?
I have been told many times that my art is full of enthusiasm and joy. Have I been living a happy life? Well, just like many of you, I have some torments in life. Instead of sadness and angry, my art shows passion, hope and love. Again, people say it is because that is what I long for.
People are all surprised with my art, saying it must be in my gene to be suddenly able to paint such beautiful work. This makes me realized my mother’s father was a great artist. He was a high-ranking officer with the Nationist. When the Communist took over after the WWII, he was put into prison for 30 years till the end of The Culture Revolution in 1979. He told me the only way to deal with the hardship in jail was painting. He spent rest of his life in a very backward and remote village and refused to become a political figure both for Taiwan and China governments. When I got into a great college in China, he sent me a few beautiful and vibrant landscape paintings. Is it a coincident that art is our saviors?
Being in my 50s, I can say I understand life very well and cherish it tremendously. My life experience is the key element for my paintings. I have lived my life both in big cities and small villages in China and America. I have experienced different cultures and sceneries. I love nature and most importantly, I am a romantic person. I utilize thick and vibrant color in my work which reflects my passion and personality. Each of them is a settlement of time and freezing of a sentiment. I am not painting an object. I am expressing an affection, an emotion. A love story never fades. A waiting withdraws.
Again and Again, people told me my paintings have stories and draw them in. I did not say much. My paintings are very personal. However, starting at such late age and somewhat successful, I am glad I have inspired people around me to be strong and hardworking. No matter what happened in life, never stop to learn, work and create.