Chen Cheng-po beams with self-confidence; behind him, Chinese hibiscus flowers bloom in brilliant summer colors. Within the world of oil painting, the 35-year-old artist had found an ideal mode of self-expression.

When Chen moved from Japan to Shanghai, his artistic career entered a new stage. In Shanghai, he found new subject matter for landscape paintings and absorbed the fundamental concepts and techniques of traditional Chinese painting. The confidence and anticipation he then felt for the future is perhaps visible in this self-portrait.