Wu was born into a farming family in southern Taiwan in 1963. When he was growing up, people were generally poor, and those in the countryside, mostly depending on farming for their livelihood, often had a hard time making ends meet. After working his way through high school, Wu followed the path most people took and joined the workforce to make a living. Through a friend's introduction, he became a cook. However, the young man knew that it was not something he wanted to do all his life. Somehow he knew that there should be a profession where he could make better use of his potential. Thus he bought a camera and took up photography in his spare time, hoping to find out where his interest lay. By and by, he came in contact with another art form that allowed more space for self-expression and was more to his liking--painting. He greatly enjoying doing it, and he knew that he had found something he wanted to devote his life to. He spent about half a year learning basic painting techniques from two teachers. After that he painted on his own, doing his best to perfect his skills and techniques.

Although he had never picked up a paintbrush before, his talent for art showed. Tseng Yu-wen (曾郁文), an established Taiwanese painter, saw Wu's paintings and said to him, "In ten years' time, you will surpass me." Tseng's words instilled a lot of confidence and strength in him. "I have a lot of respect for Tseng because when everyone else was warning me I'd end up starving if I became a painter, Tseng went against the tide and told me to go for it. He said there was a future for the profession, and he used his own success as an example to encourage me."

Wu knew that he had the potential to stand out in the field if he decided to do it. "Actually, I believe that if you work hard and do your best, no matter what line of work you are in, you'll make something of yourself." Yet despite his confidence, he was careful in planning his steps; after all, he was married by this time and had a family to support. So he kept on honing his artistic abilities, planning to become a full-time professional painter when the time was right.

About three and a half years ago, he decided it was time. At that time, Taiwan's economy was at a very low point, and the depression had seriously affected all trades and businesses. Wu chose to make his debut at a time like that because he believed he stood a better chance of getting himself noticed. "If the economy were booming and the art market were flourishing, I'd be competing with a lot of artists for attention. But in bad times, when most people are afraid to take their chances, it's easier for newcomers to grab attention."

To supplement his income, Wu creates paintings on ceramic vases, cups, plates, and even ashtrays. The handicrafts are popular on the market and thus free him from financial pressure. Being a practical person, he knows that it is useless to have ideals if one does not have the methods to carry them out. The handicrafts, which bring in money for him, can help him fulfill his loftier dream of art. Besides, they also help spread his fame and enable him to realize another dream of his: promoting art and beautiful things in our society.

Li Yao-chih (黎耀之), whose gallery acts as agent for Wu, says that the painter embraces great ambitions for his future and that he has clear goals and objectives and maps out every step he should take. "Besides, he's making fast progress. When I first knew him, his paintings still showed traces of immaturity. But over the recent years, he's been going forward by leaps and bounds. He constantly strives to go beyond his current capability. That's very important for an artist."

When Wu first started painting, most of his works were landscapes. Although he was good at this, he did not really like what he created. Then one day, he looked at his wife, Yi-hui, who was plump and well-rounded, and he thought to himself, "My wife has such a nice-looking figure--why don't I paint her?" Since then, he has created many paintings of his beloved wife. He has never gotten tired of painting her. He even applies her rotund image to other things and figures that appear in his work. Thus the birds he paints are chubby and plump. Even Kuan Yin, the Great Compassion Bodhi-sattva, has a full, nicely rounded figure.

In addition to his wife, the artist says that he likes to derive his inspiration from his surroundings, the people and things in his life that touch him. But he does not simply paint what he sees--he uses his imagination to transform or metamorphose what he sees into the colorful images in his paintings. "Otherwise it will just be ordinary scenery." What's more, he focuses on the good and beautiful because, he says, he has had a lot of suffering in life and doesn't want to bring it into his art.

Wu came from a poverty-stricken family, and now he has a 13-year-old son who is afflicted with autism. The boy has caused Wu and his wife a lot of pain. "Although my work is full of scenes of happiness, it doesn't mean I have a happy life now. Rather, they are a reflection of what I yearn to have in my life." Wu never considers his son a burden, and over the years he has tried to transform the pressure brought about by his son's illness into a driving force that pushes him to work harder. "I make the best of every minute available to me because I don't know when my son will get emotionally unstable again and I'll have to put down my paintbrush to pacify and soothe him." He says that sometimes people get lazy and slack off, but he never allows that to happen to him. "Seen in this way, my son's illness may be a blessing in disguise." The painter never fails to look at the bright side of things.

Wu now paints regularly every day. Even if he is not actually painting, his mind is mostly on his artistic creation. He has known since early on how important diligence and hard work is. He says that when he was a child, he often had to help out on his father's farm, and he noticed that while nearby plots of farmland were full of luxuriantly growing vegetables, his father's farm was overgrown with weeds and had a neglected look. "Other farmers spent a lot of time on their fields, but my father seldom stayed long on his. His mind was not on his farm. It's easy to understand why his farm didn't produce much." As young as Wu was then, he understood that the land will treat you the same way as you treat it. "As you sow, so shall you reap," he stresses. Applying this to his artistic work, he says, "All great painters around the world work hard all their lifetime. Look at Van Gogh. Although he didn't live long, he kept working until the day he died. No one can accomplish anything if he or she gives up halfway."

So no matter how busy he is, he must go to his workroom every day. "I'm very strict on myself, even to the extent that if I don't work one day, I won't eat that day." He says that the world is already packed with excellent works of art and it can well do without a poorly executed painting. If he doesn't work hard enough and make breakthroughs, there is no place for him in the competitive art world.

Wu reemphasizes that he looks upon artistic creation as his religion. Through it, he has found the meaning of his life and value in his existence. "I don't know what accomplishments I'll make in five or ten years, but I can promise you I'll persevere in my original commitment to art and never fall back."

In the sidebars on the following pages, readers will have the chance to view some of the art pieces from Wu's oeuvre, which he has given his all to create.