Heart to Hand
Learning from the artistic career of the most celebrated Chinese painter, and designing a career with intention.
Welcome to the seventh volume of Morning Pages, a newsletter sharing inspirations at the intersection of culture and identity, creative experiments, and occasional studio updates.
Recently I had a wonderful time visiting the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. It was the first week since it reopened. I came to see the exhibition of Chang Dai-Chien/张大千, one of the most accomplished Chinese painters of the 21st century.
Chang Dai-Chien (Zhang Daqian, 1899-1983) had tremendous success and popularity through his career in China and beyond. He was exceptionally prolific, and his versatility in subject matter and style was unmatched. Aware of his place in history, Chang employed ancient masterpieces and natural spectacles as sources of inspiration for paintings that bridged past and present, East and West. He's often being referred to as the "Picasso of China."
My favorite pieces from the exhibition were the splashed-color paintings inspired by the landscape of California.
Chang left China in 1949, eventually settling in California in 1969, first in Carmel-by-the-Sea and then Pebble Beach. During his California years, Chang Dai-Chien reached a state of what he called "painting from heart to hand."
Inspired by new surroundings in the Bay Area, Chang made a bold move in his brushwork and visual expression to emphasize nature's variations. The cloudy mountains, foggy groves, splashing waterfalls, and spring valley in mist. He blended abstract and impressionistic elements into the conventional vocabulary of Chinese ink paintings. These expressions were part of Chang's exploration of ways to promote Chinese painting for an international audience.
What I didn't know about Chang Dai-Chien was that he diligently emulated the styles of old masters and absorbed the techniques of traditional painting in his early career. He also spent years in the remote cave sites in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, studying and practicing ancient styles from Han and Dang dynasties. He synthesized different styles through his deliberate practice and made them into his unique expressions in his later works.
The first picture below shows a wax statue located in the Sichuan Museum. It shows Chang studying the frescoes in Mogao Caves in Dunhuang.
The rest three pictures are the paintings Chang created from that period of time. The styles are drastically different from his later works.
There's something powerful about viewing the progression of a master's artwork in a single space. Seeing the different artistic expressions, he made me realize that it's natural to branch out and experiment. Simply studying from the past can be extremely eye-opening as well. These sparks might come back and converge into something new.
To learn more about Chang Dai-Chien, this 2020 documentary film "Of Color and Ink: Chang Dai-Chien after 1949" is a great resource. It's directed by Weimin Zhang, a professor at the School of Cinema at San Francisco State University. Watch the trailer.
Lately, I've had a couple of coaching conversations on career development. I've also been asked more frequently about how I pivoted into coaching. It’s no secret that building a career with intention is on the top of mind for many.
At the Adobe MAX conference this past week, Adam Morgan, Executive Creative Director at Adobe, gave a talk on taking the next step in your creative career. He interviewed many creative industry leaders about their paths and the lessons they learned along the way.
Learn from other paths but create your own.
From researching and learning from the careers of many artists and creatives, I'm certain that lots of successful creative leaders did not have a linear career path. Those diverse experiences supported them to become more impactful leaders later in their careers.
"I feel lost. I need some soul-searching."
"I need some change in my life, but I don't know what I need to change."
It’s completely normal to have these thoughts sometimes. I was in that state a few years ago. Now looking back, I wish I started working with a coach much earlier in my career. For many years, I did not have the framework to reflect and think through what keeps me satisfied and fulfilled. I have definitely learned my lessons the hard way. Then things started to shift once I began to leverage coaching to gain clarity on my core values and seek my wisdom.
On the other hand, I realize that many of my so-called career conversations at work were not about me and my desires at all. These conversations were either centered around performance reviews or promotions to the next level.
Discussing someone's wishes should be an uplifting and worry-free conversation. I honestly wish more managers and leaders are empowered to do this for their team. If you're interested in this topic, I recently wrote a Twitter thread of my observations on career conversations and how to make them more meaningful.
Last but not least, tomorrow Monday at 2:00 PM PST, I'll be giving a talk with Yanci Wu, Senior Designer at Autodesk, on how to design your career with intention. What we'll cover in this talk:
Frameworks to assess your career satisfaction and core values
How to design your career that aligns with your desire
How to plan for the next stepping stone in your career
I cannot teach you;
only help you to explore yourself.
Nothing more.
— Bruce Lee
Thank you for reading this volume of Morning Pages. All views in this newsletter are my own. If you’re enjoying this newsletter and want to express your appreciation, spread the word and support the studio for the price of a cup of ☕️.
Yuan Studio is a space that explores the intersections of global cultures and identities. Currently, the studio is incubating a series of creative projects, such as Morning Pages, and offering coaching for people of color to harness the power of their creativity and leadership potential. You can reach out on Twitter and LinkedIn.