Laguna College of Art + Design

As an oil painter who came to art later in her life, I have a clear intention for the subjects that I paint and express the wisdom I have gathered in my life. My artworks thus reflect who I am, where I am from, and where I have traveled. Having been born and raised in China, my artistic viewpoint is naturally influenced by calligraphy, brush painting, and Chinese art. As a Chinese immigrant to the United States in adulthood, my viewpoint was widened by my western education and domestic travels in the United States. However, even more influential than my eastern and western perspectives are the perspectives I have acquired through my extensive travel experiences around the world. Each place that I have visited has given me more insight into art and life. Travelscapes is a genre I created to translate these perspectives. By combining the photographs that I took of historical landscapes and cityscapes with modern figures, I depict the duality to the past and present existing at the same time. My work thus reflects the juxtaposition of modern life as it operates around historical buildings, unchanged topographies, and various relics representing the culture’s past. The thematic interpretation of this duality is largely constructed through symbolism. However, I also utilize elements of style such as color, abstract shapes, and texture to convey the meaning. In making this work, I have come to realize that as an artist, there is no success or failure in simply trying –rather, artistry is the endless pursuit of one’s lifetime.