Walasse Ting’s Heroic Sentiments under Splendid Colors As a world-renowned Chinese artist, Walasse Ting called himself the “Butterfly Gangster” Throughout his life of extraordinary experiences, Walasse travelled the world to places like Hong Kong, Paris, New York, and Amsterdam. His charisma, playful attitude, and authenticity instilled a chic, unrestrained style into his paintings. Walasse Ting’s unique artistic style is characterized by brilliant colors and bold expressions. Considering himself a self-taught artist, Walasse Ting had always placed an emphasis on passionate expressions of personal life through a bold and free form of creation. Walasse moved to Hong Kong in 1946 before moving to Paris in the 1950s. During the stay in Paris, he interacted closely and became friends with the avant-garde group "CoBrA." Walasse's sepia, abstract splashes and ink-wash style in this period continued to develop in later works. Afterward, Walasse travelled to New York where a wave of abstract expressionism and Pop Art was ready to launch. Deeply inspired by these movements, Walasse replaced plain ink with bright colors and added natural forms of expression such as splashing and dripping into his works. His style gradually matured with the fast-paced New York school. The objective of abstract expressionism is not to pursue concrete depiction; instead it presents different emotions by using points, lines, planes, colors, shapes, and composition. Influenced by this wave, Walasse gradually developed his own language of painting which stands firmly to this day. Between the 1960s and 1970s, Walasse read a lot of Jin Yong's martial arts and chivalry novels. He was deeply attracted by the charming characters and meticulous descriptions in the novels. During this period of time, Walasse Ting's talents flourished tremendously. After setting aside the rigid expression of Eastern sentiments, Walasse's works became characterized by an exotic boldness and brightness. In early 1970s, a friendly neighbor couple in New York helped Walasse get out of financial difficulties. In return, Walasse Ting gave them a painting titled "Pink Rose Biggling", in appreciation of their kind act. The caption on the back of the painting reads, "the red apricot tree leaning over the garden wall elicits a smile inside." According to the interpretation, here "the red apricot tree leaning over the garden wall" is meant to be humorous and amusing, which fully demonstrates Walasse Ting's chivalry and charisma. Originally, "a red apricot tree leaning over the garden wall" refers to spring prosperity as well as unyielding romantic thoughts. It is as if all the flowers in the world come into bloom for the charismatic "Butterfly Gangster". Created in 1973, "Pink Rose Biggling" is one of Walasse Ting's rare large abstract paintings. The image features freely splashed, unrestrained colors that present a delightful visual experience between stillness and movement to the audience. The painting's complex emotions imply the Eastern freehand spirit of empty space. The gentle emerald base color depicts the green Earth that grows everything. The lively and wavy pink spots look like beautiful roses that bloom in early spring under the spring breeze. The full and ingenious strokes demonstrate the artist's sincerity, which expresses the flourishing energy in springtime through a contrast between roughness and fineness. The audience can easily feel a flow of life in this piece of work. Walasse Ting used splashed color spots of different sizes to put together a rhythm that naturally and boldly presents the charisma of nature. The artist did not only demonstrate the glamor and beauty of this world, but also invited the audience to enter his romantic springtime garden. In a piece of artwork, the year of creation, size, and creative diversity are all critical factors that determine the artist's status. At the Ravenel Spring Auction in 2015, "Miss World" was sold at a record-breaking high for Walasse Ting. To collectors, the praise of feminine beauty is a common theme in Walasse Ting's works. Nevertheless, Walasse's abstract paintings did exceptionally well in recent auctions. The prices increased dramatically and such increase became unstoppable in 2018 as the auction prices for his large abstract works approached that of Miss World. Furthermore, Walasse Ting's abstract works fully demonstrate his talents and passionate admiration for life. This rare large abstract painting "Pink Rose Biggling" praises the roses' energy to sway in springtime with poise and beautiful colors. With his unique sensitivity to life and artistic skills, Walasse Ting brought more room for imagination to the audience as well as opened a new chapter in his art collections.