My journey as an artist began long before art became a profession.

Born in Canton, China, I immigrated to the United States as a child and grew up in Chicago's Chinatown. Adjusting to a different language, culture, and way of life required constant observation. Drawing became a natural way to understand the world around me.

Those early experiences shaped how I see people, places, and the relationships between them. What began as a personal way of understanding my surroundings eventually became a lifelong pursuit of art.

Attending Eastern Illinois University was a turning point. It provided the opportunity to explore art beyond technical ability and discover the freedom of independent thinking. That experience changed my understanding of what it means to be an artist.

My professional career began in commercial illustration and design. Decades of working across different disciplines developed technical precision, adaptability, and an understanding of composition, materials, and visual communication. That experience became a foundation for a more independent artistic practice.

Publishing opened another direction in storytelling. Father's Chinese Opera, a children's book inspired by memories of my father and Chinese opera, received an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor. Mountain Chef, written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by me, received the Carter G. Woodson Book Award.

Over time, my work expanded into public art, large murals, installations, and museum exhibitions. These projects created opportunities to work on a different scale and explore the relationship between art, architecture, history, and community.

Among these works are the Chinese Opera mural at the Chinese American Museum of Chicago, Chinese Kite Festival at the DuPage Children's Museum, Waves of DuPage, and Walking with Giants at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art.

Returning to Chicago's Chinatown to paint the Chinese Opera mural in 2022 brought my personal history and artistic practice together. The project connected memories of my father, my childhood neighborhood, and a cultural tradition that continues to influence my work.

That relationship between personal experience and history developed further through Gold Mountain, an ongoing series exploring Chinese American history, immigration, memory, and identity. The series was exhibited as Land of Gold Mountain at the Chinese American Museum of Chicago in 2025–2026.

But history is only one part of my artistic interests.

Independent studio work offers the freedom to investigate ideas without a predetermined subject, style, or outcome. Realism, abstraction, geometric forms, and different approaches to composition often come together within the same work.

The creative process is driven by curiosity and questioning. An initial idea may lead in an unexpected direction. Decisions are made, reconsidered, and sometimes abandoned as the work develops. Finding something original is more important than following an established formula.

Years of experience have also changed my understanding of storytelling. Journey Home, created for the 2026 Odyssey Reimagined exhibition at the National Hellenic Museum, reflects a broader interpretation of the immigrant experience. The painting moves beyond a particular historical event, using imagination and visual relationships to explore uncertainty, ambition, and the human journey.

Today, my practice continues along several parallel paths. Historical narratives, independent studio investigations, and public art each provide different opportunities to explore ideas and challenge familiar ways of seeing.

There is no single style or subject that defines the work. What connects these different pursuits is an ongoing commitment to observation, critical thinking, experimentation, and original expression.

Art has given me the freedom to question what I know, reconsider what I believe, and discover possibilities that were not apparent at the beginning.

That process continues to shape both the work and the person I am becoming.