Artist Biography and Statement
My love of the arts began as a child growing up in China. Back then, the arts were not considered serious professions, so I majored in Japanese language and literature and I went on to become a college professor. It was not until after I relocated to the US in the 1990s that I began to study oil painting seriously. I was teaching full-time at a private school then, so I could only practice painting on the weekends and during school breaks. I struggled with how little time I had to paint and how little progress I felt I was making. In 2015, I decided to scale down my teaching responsibilities and devote most of my time to art. What an exciting and fulfilling adventure I have had since then!
I am now a full-time painter based in Boston with a secondary residence in Beijing. I work in oil both en plein air and in the studio. I draw inspiration from many sources - from the aesthetics of traditional Chinese and Japanese art to the natural landscapes near my homes in Boston and Beijing. I admire the techniques of Impressionism and the landscape works of George Inness, which influence how I define and express my work.
My work is held in private collections in the US, China, and Japan. I have a BA in Japanese language and literature, an MA in Japanese Pedagogy in China, and an MA in Japanese Folklore Studies in Japan. Before walking the artist path full-time, I taught Japanese at a university in Beijing as well as at private schools in the New England. I served as the chair of Mandarin Department and Director of the China Exchange program at a charter school in Boston from 2001-2015 and retain only the latter responsibility currently.
