April xu
Bio
Xu holds a bachelor's degree in illustration and has exhibited extensively in Houston, TX, Portland, Eugene, OR, and overseas. She has received many fine art competition awards and was invited as a juror for art competitions such as the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Most notably, her work is featured in the collection of Princeton University's East Asian Library. Xu teaches drawing and painting in Portland, Oregon, where she resides.
Artist Statement
What is the meaning of painting? To me, it’s not only about value and color measuring the world exactly, but also the best way to express my mood.
Usually, I use soft oil brushes, bristle oil brushes, or palette knives to express my feeling on the canvas or a wooden board. But all the subtle feelings come from real life. As an oil painter living in Portland, Oregon, I like to read poems, listen to music, and of course, I always like to observe this world. All of these give me the creative power.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “ Beauty will not come at the call of a legislature, nor will it repeat in England or America its history in Greece. It will come, as always, unannounced, and spring up between the feet of brave and earnest men.”
To me, beauty comes from a sleeping model sitting on a sofa or a lonely man by the sea without knowing what the subject is thinking at that moment. Beauty comes from a quiet teenager in the middle of a raucous crowd at the festival, or a lady leaning in front of a car texting surrounded by autumn trees and leaves. All of these real scenes that happen every day fascinate me to use my brushes to express my love of this world.
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April xu
What is the meaning of painting? To me, it’s not only about value and color measuring the world exactly, but also the best way to express my mood.
Usually, I use soft oil brushes, bristle oil brushes, or palette knives to express my feeling on the canvas or a wooden board. But all the subtle feelings come from real life. As an oil painter living in Portland, Oregon, I like to read poems, listen to music, and of course, I always like to observe this world. All of these give me the creative power.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “ Beauty will not come at the call of a legislature, nor will it repeat in England or America its history in Greece. It will come, as always, unannounced, and spring up between the feet of brave and earnest men.”
To me, beauty comes from a sleeping model sitting on a sofa or a lonely man by the sea without knowing what the subject is thinking at that moment. Beauty comes from a quiet teenager in the middle of a raucous crowd at the festival, or a lady leaning in front of a car texting surrounded by autumn trees and leaves. All of these real scenes that happen every day fascinate me to use my brushes to express my love of this world.
