Cameras take pictures that reflect the image or object before them, but they cannot interpret that object. My objective is to go beyond what a camera does and show the essence of the images I paint.

For example, when I see a tree I hear the music of the tree, sense its poetry and feel its meaning, and that is what I want to portray. I want the people who look at my paintings to get pleasure and beauty from them and to make it easier for them to interpret their own definition of the painting's song and poetry and to be happier because of it.

The “splash” technique of applying oil colors onto the canvas allows me to create a variety of gentle and rhythmic color passages unparallel to the direct painting method. The oil color is often mixed with a glazing medium to the desired consistency before I splash the mixture onto the canvas and allow it to flow, drip or blend with other colors already on the canvas. Sometimes the direction of the flow is controlled according to my painting's composition. Other times the free movement of the splashed on color takes on a random character of its own and results in passages of fresh, ethereal beauty far surpassing my design and expectation. I use the brush to enhance the composition.

Of course, happy accidents don't happen all the time. Along with successes there are failures. Whenever I am not completely satisfied with the result, I wait for the surface to dry and repeat the “splash” process until it is satisfactory. This painting process requires not only knowledge and technique but also demands patience, dedication and a deep sense of vision. Often, new inspirations come to me during the "splash" process and the final painting could become something entirely new and different from my original sketch.

Using mixed media on paper is another of my art forms. The smooth quality of paper responds well to all media: watercolor, acrylic, oil pastel. The distinctive color and texture produced by each medium can be used to create poetic, transparent passages of color, intricate fine lines and if desired, thick impasto images, all on the same surface. The advantage of the fast-drying mixed media provides the spontaneity and freedom I need in the creation of abstract art.

Born and raised in Taiwan, Su-Hua Chen Low studied Western painting with Professor Shi-Chiao Lee and Chinese painting with Professor Ku-May Lee from 1968 to 1974.

In 1986, she moved to the United States where she continues to study and develop her personal artistic vision. This includes a broadening of her focus on abstraction and interpretive work as well as incorporating monoprinting into her repertoire. Professors Christopher B. Koep and Kathleen W. Schulz are among her advisors.

Her work is characterized by elegant composition with unique accents and techniques such as her signature "splashing." These serve to blend the rich colors of Western oil painting with the transparent atmosphere of the Chinese approach and thus, each work ends up with an ethereal quality unmatched by either side.

Su-Hua lives and paints in Bridgewater, New Jersey. She can be reached at her studio at 908.429.1166 or

Juried Shows:
Somerset Art Association (Bedminster, NJ) Members’ Annual Juried Show, “Award of Excellence” 2007 January

Solo Shows:
Shimon and Sara Birnbaum Jewish Community Center (Bridgewater, NJ) 2006 March