About the Artist

From Ideas to Paintings

A vertical watercolor-style painting depicting an ornate garden scene with a flowing stream, bridges, flowering plants, birds, pavements, and figures in traditional dress under a red sky.

Inspiration

Every painting begins with an idea, but ideas rarely arrive fully formed. They often emerge from a moment of curiosity, a memory, an observation or an emotion that stays with me. Some appear unexpectedly, while others remain in my mind for months before they begin to take shape. I often find myself asking "What if...?", allowing possibilities to develop before deciding whether they belong in a painting.

Research

Research is an essential part of my practice. Sometimes it means learning about the history and parentage of a peony, discovering the people who bred it or understanding its place in horticulture. At other times, it involves exploring architecture, symbolism, decorative motifs or historical references that help shape the world within a painting. Every discovery deepens my appreciation of the subject and often leads the work in new directions.

Experiment

Ideas continue to evolve through composition, materials and process. I rarely begin with a fixed solution. Different media offer different possibilities, and I enjoy exploring how materials themselves can become part of the artwork. Whether working with ink, pigments, oil or natural materials such as dried peony petals, experimentation allows each painting to develop its own character.

Painting

Painting is where everything comes together, but it is also where new discoveries are made. Compositions change, relationships emerge and ideas continue to evolve as the work progresses. Whether inspired by observation, imagination or an emotional response to life, every painting forms part of an ongoing search for beauty, meaning and inner tranquillity.

Materials & Process

My choice of materials is never predetermined. Each painting suggests its own medium, and the relationship between idea and material is an important part of the creative process. Some works call for the quiet precision of ink and pigments on silk or rice paper, while others require the expressive possibilities of oil.

Gongbi

Working in the traditional Gongbi technique demands patience, precision and complete concentration. Unlike oil, every mark is deliberate, leaving little room for correction. The process is slow and meditative, creating a sense of calm that becomes part of the finished work. Painting in this way is as much about cultivating attention as it is about describing form.

Oil

Oil painting offers a different kind of freedom. Its richness, texture and flexibility allow ideas to develop more spontaneously, with compositions evolving as layers are added, removed and reworked. It gives me the space to respond intuitively, particularly when exploring emotion, memory and imagined landscapes.

Looking Forward

I continue to experiment with new materials and processes, particularly those that deepen the connection between the artwork and the natural world. Recent explorations include preserving peonies through pressed flowers and creating pigments from dried petals, allowing the life of the flower to continue in a different form.