Filipino-Taiwanese artist finds personal value in painting

2024-04-01

Wu Chieh-sheng has always loved to paint. In high school, the Filipino-Taiwanese artist became infatuated with hand-painted movie billboards, and even asked the famous painter Hsieh Sen-shan for support. He has now created a diverse set of murals, although his favorite is the one he did on a migrant dorm in Taoyuan’s Guishan. Wu says that painting is therapeutic, and he hopes to one day become an illustrator.

Wu Chieh-sheng
Filipino-Taiwanese artist
I’m mixing green now. Add a little bit of blue to yellow and you’ll get green. A little black will make it deeper. Right now I’m painting the entrance to a Philippine restaurant, so it has a tropical feel to it.

28-year-old Wu Chieh-sheng is a 2D game art designer. He might use a computer for work, but his true passion is still painting by hand.

Wu Chieh-sheng
Filipino-Taiwanese artist
For birds of paradise, it’s not enough to just paint one layer. You need another layer to cover up the original outline.

When Wu became interested in painting lifelike movie billboards in high school, he approached Hsieh Sen-shan for guidance. The famous artist gave him an introduction to creating large murals.

Wu Chieh-sheng
Filipino-Taiwanese artist
Before Mr. Hsieh’s help, I wasn’t very good at using opaque media to mix colors. Layered watercolors and layered concrete paint are entirely different. The amount of water is also entirely different. So Mr. Hsieh gave me a lot of guidance on technique.

The three-story migrant dorm across from Unimicron in Taoyuan’s Guishan District was Wu’s largest project, as well as the most satisfying.

Voice of Wu Chieh-sheng
Filipino-Taiwanese artist
I painted the things most familiar to me, like the Chocolate Hills and Mayon Volcano. It’s done in an interpretive style. Instead of realistic colors, I used many different colors to piece together the entire scene.

Wu’s mother is from the Philippines and his father is from Taiwan. He grew up in the Philippines until the age of seven, when he started elementary school in Taiwan. He says his status as a second-generation immigrant confused him for a while. It wasn’t until his part-time job in college that he discovered his talent for painting and came to terms with his identity. After that, Wu felt liberated to find his own place in the world through art.

Wu Chieh-sheng
Filipino-Taiwanese artist
I want to become an illustrator. I want to make more of my own work and paint more things that I like, not just what companies and clients want.

Evelyn Bon Wu
Wu’s mother
Success in painting, like the other painters he will be successful. He can sell his paintings expensive.

According to Wu, his Filipina mother has given him a life unlike any other.

This story was provided by the program "We Are Family"
Funded by New Immigrant Development Fund

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菲律賓新二代吳傑生壁畫創作繪出新價值

2024-04-01

菲律賓新二代吳傑生喜愛畫畫，高中時迷上手繪電影看板，向電影海報師傅謝森山請益，奠定畫巨幅畫的基礎。他擅長多元文化壁畫創作，桃園龜山移工宿舍外牆的巨幅壁畫是他最滿意的作品。吳傑生說，繪畫很療癒，希望有朝一日成為插畫家。

[[菲律賓新二代吳傑生]]
“我現在調的是綠色，黃色再加一點藍色混成綠色，再沾一點黑，讓他變得更深，我這次畫的是菲律賓餐廳的入口意象，是以熱帶風情為主”

28歲的吳傑生，現在是2D遊戲美術設計師，用電腦繪圖，不過他最愛的還是徒手畫畫。

[[菲律賓新二代吳傑生]]
“(畫)天堂鳥，因為只畫第一層還不夠，會再畫第二層，讓原本打的稿被覆蓋掉”

高中時，因為嚮往畫出栩栩如生的電影看板，向電影海報手繪師謝森山請益，奠定了畫巨幅畫的基礎。

[[菲律賓新二代吳傑生]]
“在謝老師教導我調色之前，其實我不太會使用這種不透明的媒材調色，水彩疊的層次跟水泥漆疊的層次是完全不一樣的，沾的水量也完全不同，所以謝老師在技巧上給我很大的指導”

在桃園龜山欣興電子對面的員工宿舍，三層樓高的壁畫是他畫過最大幅、最滿意的作品。

[[聲音來源:菲律賓新二代吳傑生]]
“畫了我最熟悉的題材，巧克力山丘及馬永火山的遺跡，把他們用插畫的風格，不是用寫實的色彩，用更多的色彩去拼湊出整個畫面”

吳傑生的媽媽來自菲律賓、爸爸是臺灣人，七歲以前他在菲律賓長大，上國小才回到台灣，新二代的身份一度讓他迷惘。大學打工時，繪畫天份被發覺，也認同了自己的身分，吳傑生拿掉放在心裡的枷鎖，在繪畫世界裡，找到自己的定位。

[[菲律賓新二代吳傑生]]
“我想要成為一個插畫家，希望可以多畫自己的作品，多畫自己喜歡的作品，而不是只畫公司的東西，畫客戶想要的”

[[吳傑生母親艾維玲Evelyn Bon Wu]]
“希望他跟其他畫家一樣成功，可以賣畫賺很多錢”

吳傑生說，來自菲律賓的母親，給了他與眾不同的人生。

以上內容由《我們一家人》節目提供內政部移民署監製

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