Wu focuses on figurative work, using live models, mainly women draped in cloth, although his repertoire includes landscapes and portraits. Wu's style is impressionistic and moody. It has evolved from initially painting "quickly and spontaneously" with exaggerated values and colors to growing more logical and conscious, according to Wu. This is also reflected in his choice of models. Wu is known best for his figurative paintings. Inspired heavily by 19th century French painting, Wu describes his work as “representational, but not traditional classical.” This can be seen, as Wu uses modern elements of
graphic design in his work. Wu's design principles derive from traditional Chinese painting. Wu begins composing a new image by determining what he calls points, masses, and lines. A line refers to any prominent edge, shape, or series of shapes that sweeps through the painting. A point refers to any small shape, and a mass refers is any large shape or cluster of small shapes that can be grouped together to become one large shape. While a painting can be built on two or even just one of these three elements, Wu prefers to build his compositions on a mixture of all three. "I use points, masses, and lines the way a composer uses notes to write a song," Wu said. Since 1983, Wu's work has been exhibited in
Asia,
Europe, and the
United States. He has won awards including the Merit Award at the sixth National Art Exhibition,
Beijing; the Gustafson Fund Award; the National Oil and Acrylic Painter's Society Award (United States); first place in the ninth Biennial National Figure Painting and Drawing Exhibition; second place in
International Artist magazine Challenge No. 4 (Aug/Sept 2001); and the Daler-Rowney Award from the Oil Painters of America. His work has been published in
International Artist Magazine (April/May 2003, August/September 2005),
Art of the West (September/October 2004, July/August 2007),
Art Talk Magazine (February 2005), and
American Art Collector (January 2007). ==References==