Testimonies
This letter to express our sincere thanks for the excellent quality and the service that we received from artist Wei Yan and the gallery. We were extremely cautious and uncertain when we embarked on an ambitious project to search for an original oil painting of a portrait of our past president in order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of family ownership of our company. It was truly a unique journey for us who went through the process of interviewing artists, reviewing their work, selecting an artist, searching for producing suitable images, reviewing preliminary sketches, review the painting in progress and finally selecting a suitable frame to complete the work.”
“We were not only absolutely delighted with the end result but enjoyed our experience interacting with the gallery and artist Wei along the way.
Danny Di Marco/ vice president and C.F.O.
Ahearn And Soper Inc.
Ahearn And Soper Inc.
Mr. Yan has accepted invitations from Newcomer Centre of Peel several times to lead the senior drawing classes. The class participants are very diverse in terms of their drawing skills, expectations, language fluency in English and cultural background.
Mr. Yan has proved himself to be an excellent teacher and is very much loved by his students. He’s very professional and his skills in various categories of drawings have impressed all his students and other people who have even seen his products. He’s experienced in teaching. He’s able to properly assess the students’ skills and needs, then adjust his lessons accordingly to ensure that all students are fully engaged. His step-by-step guidance is very clear and easy to follow. Some of his students who don’t have much prior drawing skills are still able to follow him well and make their own final products at the end. In addition, he’s patient, friendly and easy to approach.
I highly recommend Mr. Yan for teaching any type of group or individual drawing lessons.
Best Regards,
Ellen Zhang
Office Manager
Newcomer Centre of Peel
165 Dundas Street West, Suite 404
Mississauga ON L5B 2N6
Tel: 905.306.0577 ext. 292
Fax: 905.306.1275
[email protected]
www.ncpeel.ca
selected Award certificate
Art review
Mastering Material Properties for New Imagistic Expression:
An Analysis of Wei Yan’s Artistic Value
By Lin Zhixian | Art Critic & Writer
Whether in oil painting or traditional Chinese painting, established techniques and systems ("painting methods") are highly developed. If artists rigidly follow these prescribed rules, it becomes difficult to forge new paths, leading to the homogenized style seen in much contemporary art where everyone "sticks to the methods."
In contrast, the imagistic oil paintings of renowned Canadian-Chinese artist Wei Yan deliver a strikingly unique aesthetic impact. With both precision and freedom in his technique, he creates utterly distinctive works. His depictions of mountains, rivers, the earth, and the vast cosmos are filled with wondrous light and color, utterly captivating! Clearly, he achieves breakthroughs by defying convention. On closer inspection, his profound exploration of his materials' properties is key. Using the same materials as others, he employs unconventional mastery. Through intelligent repetition and rendering, he captures the profound essence described as "The Great Flows On; Flowing On, it becomes Remote" (Daodejing). The wonder lies in his captivating colors, luminous vitality, boundless variation, and harmony with nature's way. His imagistic oil paintings are pioneering works, truly representative of a "New Imagism Movement."
Oil paints are inherently heavy, yet Wei Yan coaxes from them a light, ethereal quality. He achieves both granular texture and the soft, diffused charm of ink washes. Remarkably, he uses oil paints to express the watery, misty effects of ink—not only successfully, but masterfully. His tones are richly vibrant, smooth, and luminous, creating a uniquely pleasing and visually impactful experience. His application clearly achieves a dual affinity for both oil and water. Since oil and water naturally repel each other, achieving their fusion is extraordinarily difficult!
Whether painting mountains, waters, clouds, or myriad phenomena, Wei Yan’s imagistic oils display perfect control over fluidity and density. They can be as transparent as ink washes or as substantial as thick oils. Watery and oily properties miraculously coexist in harmony—a tremendous achievement in material expression for imagistic oil painting. Wei Yan transforms the impossible into captivating new possibilities.His secret lies in a deep understanding of exactly when water-based colors, at their optimal state of wetness/dryness, can seamlessly fuse with oil-based materials on the canvas. By applying oil rendering at this precise moment, he neutralizes the natural repulsion between water and oil, leaving only perfect affinity. This mastery over material properties is the result of countless experiments—a new approach to imagery where the core is perfect timing. It’s an almost secret, innovative achievement. While viewers marvel at its beauty and yearn to replicate it, they find the process exceptionally challenging! Without grasping his method, one cannot capture its magic.
Rooted in conventional techniques, Yan ’s imagistic oil paintings express extraordinary visions through material innovation. In artistic concept and execution, they maintain a dialogue with the spirit of traditional Chinese ink-wash painting. This infuses oil painting with powerful momentum for material innovation, profoundly expanding the boundaries of technique. These works are undoubtedly brilliant landmarks within the contemporary innovation of oil painting. Yan’s wondrous command over his materials fuses the cultures of oil painting and Chinese painting into grand, internationally influential masterpieces.
Mastering Material Properties for New Imagistic Expression:
An Analysis of Wei Yan’s Artistic Value
By Lin Zhixian | Art Critic & Writer
Whether in oil painting or traditional Chinese painting, established techniques and systems ("painting methods") are highly developed. If artists rigidly follow these prescribed rules, it becomes difficult to forge new paths, leading to the homogenized style seen in much contemporary art where everyone "sticks to the methods."
In contrast, the imagistic oil paintings of renowned Canadian-Chinese artist Wei Yan deliver a strikingly unique aesthetic impact. With both precision and freedom in his technique, he creates utterly distinctive works. His depictions of mountains, rivers, the earth, and the vast cosmos are filled with wondrous light and color, utterly captivating! Clearly, he achieves breakthroughs by defying convention. On closer inspection, his profound exploration of his materials' properties is key. Using the same materials as others, he employs unconventional mastery. Through intelligent repetition and rendering, he captures the profound essence described as "The Great Flows On; Flowing On, it becomes Remote" (Daodejing). The wonder lies in his captivating colors, luminous vitality, boundless variation, and harmony with nature's way. His imagistic oil paintings are pioneering works, truly representative of a "New Imagism Movement."
Oil paints are inherently heavy, yet Wei Yan coaxes from them a light, ethereal quality. He achieves both granular texture and the soft, diffused charm of ink washes. Remarkably, he uses oil paints to express the watery, misty effects of ink—not only successfully, but masterfully. His tones are richly vibrant, smooth, and luminous, creating a uniquely pleasing and visually impactful experience. His application clearly achieves a dual affinity for both oil and water. Since oil and water naturally repel each other, achieving their fusion is extraordinarily difficult!
Whether painting mountains, waters, clouds, or myriad phenomena, Wei Yan’s imagistic oils display perfect control over fluidity and density. They can be as transparent as ink washes or as substantial as thick oils. Watery and oily properties miraculously coexist in harmony—a tremendous achievement in material expression for imagistic oil painting. Wei Yan transforms the impossible into captivating new possibilities.His secret lies in a deep understanding of exactly when water-based colors, at their optimal state of wetness/dryness, can seamlessly fuse with oil-based materials on the canvas. By applying oil rendering at this precise moment, he neutralizes the natural repulsion between water and oil, leaving only perfect affinity. This mastery over material properties is the result of countless experiments—a new approach to imagery where the core is perfect timing. It’s an almost secret, innovative achievement. While viewers marvel at its beauty and yearn to replicate it, they find the process exceptionally challenging! Without grasping his method, one cannot capture its magic.
Rooted in conventional techniques, Yan ’s imagistic oil paintings express extraordinary visions through material innovation. In artistic concept and execution, they maintain a dialogue with the spirit of traditional Chinese ink-wash painting. This infuses oil painting with powerful momentum for material innovation, profoundly expanding the boundaries of technique. These works are undoubtedly brilliant landmarks within the contemporary innovation of oil painting. Yan’s wondrous command over his materials fuses the cultures of oil painting and Chinese painting into grand, internationally influential masterpieces.
© Yan Wei's Art 2025