Autumn Years Spring 2023

Impression of Hudson River View, Tenn Lu.

Commenting on adult students, Mei says, “People think they don’t have talent. They just haven’t tried. You might think it’s bad, but you have your style.” Tenn adds that “it takes time and you have to like it. You don’t have to work hard, just focus. You have to decide what you’re go ing to do and what to paint. You need ba sic training to do it.” Tag-teaming each other’s comments, they say you have to

know when to stop, and not do too much on a piece of paper. Tenn offers his stu dents his works to copy, but he says you don’t have to copy exactly. “It’s your per sonality. The student paints something similar to what the teacher shows, but it’s not what you planned to do, to paint. The pictures are all different. That’s okay.” As he mentors his students, he shares the skills that have garnered him more

Tenn was one of the featured artists at the 2021 Bergen County Art in the Park Exhibition held at Van Saun County Park in Paramus.

in the Park Exhibition held at Van Saun County Park in Paramus. Mei says that she didn’t want to com pete with him so she does the calligra phy and the traditional Chinese brush painting. They both do Chinese water color, but his style is more flowing and lets the eye fill in the details. “Artists see scenes differently,” says Tenn. He teaches brush strokes differently, as Americans use light and shadow, whereas Chinese watercolor style can include lines around

than 20 first prizes and three best in-shows from county, state and national juried ex hibitions. He was one of the featured artists at the 2021 Bergen County Art

Tenn Lu by a display of his artwork at the Bergen County Courthouse.

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AUTUMN YEARS I SPRING 2023