He believes in “the true essence of Chinese art should be found among the people”: “the hanging painting” in childhood, granny’s paper-cut, women’s shoe pattern, pedlar who selling silk  yarn……all those become the live sources for his creation. He sticks to depicting the abstracted picture by using simple language similar to children’s painting, so the picture has the simplely romantic & vigorous tamperament. That tamperament subjugates the global audience by the fascination of “turning simplicity into vigour”, and reflects the Taoist philosophy. Not to mention the simply shaping element and the artifice of oil painting from the West, only the ink and lines interweaving visibly & invisibly are all stamped with flavour of Chinese culture, so it is clear that his art language is bred to traditional culture. 

Shi Hu is deeply rooted among tradition, but he is not conservative; on the contrary, he is a pioneer of innovation, after years of research on traditional art, he clearly understands the disadvantages of Chinese painting, such as: not valuing colour seriously, but the crimson landscape, flower & bird painting are the lucky “exceptions”. That’s because the rice paper can’t bear multiple colours, but his years of test breaks through the limits of rice paper, and mkes colour expression more vigorous. He draws not only ink painting of figure, but also the bright colour painting, so Shi Hu is an industrious explorer. 

It is not “random” innovation in the ink of Chinese painting, Shi Hu has his own view. He thinks that the ink has the aesthetic perception and spirit. The Chinese brush is difficult to show the strength, so the reinforcement of ink is to expand means of expression and preserve its spirit. The strong point of Chinese fine arts is the line, what the Chinese artists to do is to create a new set of means of line and to develop it into a systematic language, thus the Chinese painting will survive. When reading his calligraphic works, the spectators will be moved by the fascinating lines of Chinese brush. His calligraphy is unique, it seems eccentric, but in fact, the spectators can find the trail of assimilating these official script, inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells of the Shang Dynasty and tablet inscriptions of the Northern Dynasties, it is truely traditional calligraphy. 

Shi Hu shows great initiative not only in painting, but also in understanding the self-cultivation for artists. As an explorer, he calls on the Chinese artists to undertake the social responsibility. If an artist does not seek tamperamental expression of his nation, his works can’t be called “art”. After the thoughts trend of 1985, Shi Hu kept guard for his Chinese culture, and “sobered up” the artists who were lost in the the trend of importing, imitating and praising the Western theory. In 1990, Shi Hu has paid attention to Chinese poem, new field of Chinese culture, he pondered and “cognized” the Chinese character. He explores the art expression of Chinese character in: On Character Pattern, On Cognition Of Chinese Character. And in this way, he creates “Chart Of Abstruse Totem” “Chart Of Merry Age, Chart Of Dream, the paintings to show poetic realm & philosophical idea, and to show the cultivation of Chinese people. Chart Of Red Honesty created in 2004 is more profound.

Shi Hu creates freely in the vast realms of ink, oil painting, calligraphy and poem, “dominating” the bright coloured painting. He “makes use of occasionality and imagination, creates eccentric & pretty works……highlights culture by the illusive language ( by Shao Dazhen) ”. As he is globally renowned, his works set up a bridge for the global exchange and explores the way for Chinese painting to go into the world.