I paint Asian male figures. I love to paintthem because I am Chinese and very proud of myancient heritage. I have beento many museums around the world, and find that most of thefigurative art there shows western bodies, mostlyfemale. So I feel it is myresponsibility to show the beauty of the Asian to the world, and toemphasize the neglected glory of the Asian malebody. This is my mission, mydream, my passion. My brushesare like my voice, to tell the truth and beautyof the Asian male body to a world which is mostly unfamiliar withit. There is a rhythm to my art, which followsthe rhythm of the male body. I love sinuouslines, flowing like waves ofmusic. Icapture beauty with small changes in light and color, aiming to find the beauty of the whole in the subtle detailsof the parts. My paintwork is often soft,but I want my viewers to feel strongly about mypaintings. All masterworks have energy inside andI want my paintings to have that kind of power.
Who do Ipaint? Imust always be inspired by a model,so I pick only those who I knowwill help me to create a masterpiece. My modelsare all my friends. Most are young collegestudents. They are not just beautiful - they areintelligent and accomplishedalso. This is a golden time intheir lives, when their bodies are closest toperfection, when their enthusiasm and excitement and energy are the mostintense. Those are thequalities that I try tocapture. The models take theirtime to view my paintings, to understand mytechniques, to absorb what I am trying to expressin my work. When we both feelthat I can bring them alive on the canvas, weparticipate together in the creation of apainting. They want to be partof the unfolding history of the art of the maleAsian nude. They understandthat I am a master of this art form, andthat they are as privileged to be painted as I amto paint them.
How do I paint? Above all I amdedicated to quality -- to the special qualitythat comes from painstaking academic technique. For me this is a labor oflove. I hadan academic education and I always enjoy the time and feeling anddetail that I put into my art. To me “academic”does not just mean formal or intellectual qualities - it meanspowerful emotional qualities also, that must be present in everypart of the painting. If apainting is not as great as I can make it, I do not want to show itto the world atall! When Istart a painting I do lots of preliminary drawings to study thelighting, the line, the shading, the anatomy, thecomposition, the relationships. Then I put down afew lines to define the space on the canvas. Next, I use a very thin oil, rather like watercolor, to set up the image. Then I paint over and over, layering the colorsto create a richer effect. Formy flesh tones, for example, I use many thin glazes to achieve theright look in each part of thebody. A large oil painting cantake one or two months to complete, althoughsometimes I work on several canvases simultaneously.
What will I paint next? My art constantlyevolves, for as my life and my feelings and myexperiences change, so does mypainting. Because I aim forperfection I often surprise myself by the new ideas and skills thatseem to burst upon me. But although my models maychange and my techniques may change, my subjectmatter will never change. Iwill always be a dedicated master painter of the Asian malebody.
