Artist Bio:

I was born in Shanghai. In my early years, I worked as a machinist and technician in a factory, later I was admitted to a university in Shanghai to study computer engineering. In the 1980s, I received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Kobe University in Japan. I immigrated to Canada in the 1990s and worked in research and software development at several companies, including IBM Japan.

What inspires your artwork:

Like many boys and girls, drawing was a precious instinct for me – mine just surfaced early. I remember the first drawing I ever made: a trolleybus represented by a square with two trolley poles. That was before I even entered kindergarten – probably before age four. When I was in elementary school, I dreamed of becoming a painter.

Despite the strong communist ideology and limited access to learning resources at the time, Shanghai, as a historical hub of East-West cultural exchange, retained a certain artistic atmosphere. I had a classmate who was also a little painting buddy; we encouraged each other, drawing landscapes in parks, sketching readers in libraries – drawing whatever we saw. We also sought out drawing materials together. One summer, we even sneaked into the Shanghai Art College and unexpectedly met the oil painter Meng Guang, who gave us words of encouragement. In elementary and middle school, art class was my favorite, and I was always the teacher’s pet. Later, due to various reasons – including political climate – I drifted away from art. Over ten years ago, I picked up the brush again and returned to my childhood dream, finding great joy in it.

Description of your artwork:

My work is mainly in pen and ink and watercolor. Subjects include landscapes, figures, and portraits, with landscapes making up the majority. My favorite themes are trees and architecture in realistic style. I strive to capture the essence of my subjects through the use of light and shadow contrast, aiming to give viewers the feeling of being present in the scene.

List of Awards and Accomplishments

Recent:
Title: Unionville in Winter
Best Watercolour – Art Guild of Scarborough 2023 Full Show
Title: Sculpture Bathes in Sunlight
Shortlisted in the Canadian Art Competition 2023 (McMichael Gallery)

Past:
Received Best Drawing in Art Guild of Scarborough Show
Over ten works received Special Merits during Art Guild of Scarborough Jurying Evenings
Five works exhibited in the Art Guild of Scarborough annual Arthur Show

Email: weifuart@gmail.com
Instagram: @Weifuart
Flickr: flickr.com/photos/light-and-shadow-by-pen

Old Alley in Rhodes, 10 x 7.5 Pen and Ink