Wu Guanzhong first started painting with oil and then moved on to ink, searching for a way to fuse Eastern and Western art. His works bring together the aesthetics of traditional Chinese ink and modern Western art, pioneering the unique "Wu studio style".
Wu had an enduring connection with Hong Kong. He visited Hong Kong on many occasions, such as hosting art exhibitions and attending academic seminars and talks by invitation. He made acquaintance with many members of the art circles. He also did sketches on the streets in Hong Kong, and the city is the subject of many of his paintings. Wu highly rated Hong Kong's cultural environment, to him, Hong Kong was a confluence where he could "see both the East and the West at the same time". It is a quality that can also be found in his art creations.
The painting “Abode In The Colorful Lake” depicts the artist’s impression of a scenery from his hometown in Jiangnan province — white-walled houses with black roof tiles surrounded by greenery and water. Wu Guanzhong discovered the abstract beauty of lines, dots and planes through the jiangnan dwellings, bridges and rivers. He used this figurative subject matter to express the abstract concept of colour, more specifically the interesting relationship between colours and white — very much at odds with one another and yet interdependent. He wrote, “the colours of the lake and the white of the houses, they nestle lovingly against each other.” Without the white of the houses, the colours of the lake cannot stand out; without the colours of the lake, the white of the houses will be less distinct.

Painting: “Abode In The Colorful Lake” by Wu Guanzhong (彩湖居)(吳冠中)