his subject is in shadow and adjacent to a light background,
Wu employs a harder edge.
Some of these harder edges can be seen in Wu’s pastel,
Contemplation (opposite). The artist purposely sat near the
model at a low vantage point, elongating her neck and lead-
ing the viewer up toward her eyes. “I had the idea that she
was in contemplation, hoping for something,” recalls Wu.
“Her eyes were beautifully translucent, like crystal.” Wu
sketched the subject on BFK Rives paper with compressed
charcoal, adding shading. He then used a workable fixative
on the chiaroscuro drawing before finishing with pastel.
Adept with a variety of media, including oil and acrylic,
Wu also paints a wide assortment of subject matter. His
backlit landscape on dark gray Canson paper, Summer
Light (below), was painted en plein air. It, too, depicts that
BornandraisedinBeijing,
China,JianWu(jwstudio.
net)practicedoilpainting
fromanearlyageand
wastutoredindrawing,
sketchingandcolortheory
bynotedprofessorWang
NaiZhuang.Hestudied
attheesteemedCentral
ArtandCraftsCollegeof
China.Aftergraduation,
Wuworkedatanart
researchinstitutefocusing
onlarge-scalemurals
andsculptureinpublic
placesandhigh-end
hotels.Eventuallypursuing
graduatestudiesinthe
U.S.,theartistreceivedhis
master’sdegreeinfineart
fromtheAcademyofArt
University,SanFrancisco.In
2019,hetaughtadvanced
pasteltechniqueatboththe
SchoolofArtandDesign
ofShanghaiUniversity
andHainanUniversityArt
CollegeinChina.Winner
ofnumeroustopawards
forhisworkinpastel,oil
andacrylic,theSan
FranciscoBayAreaartistis
representedbyNewMasters
Gallery,inCarmel-by-the-
Sea,Calif.,andHorizonFine
ArtGallery,inJackson,Wyo.glowing light effect that attracts the artist. “I squint a lot
to see the values and colors,” he says, “and if I see a bit of
purple, I’ll push that color using a variety of values and
temperatures.” Wu says he used the sides of Nupastel sticks
for energetic mark-making on leaves and grass, which he
painted last. “I love the broken color effect and texture
created by the interaction of color and rough paper,” he
adds. “It can be intense and expressive or subtly transpar-
ent and airy.”
Clearly, the artist’s willingness to match the right
technique, media and surface to achieve his concept has
produced many striking results. PJArtist and workshop instructor Robert K. Carsten (robertcarsten.
com) has written numerous articles on art and artists.ArtistsNetwork.com 47