She received her early art training in Hong Kong and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her paintings have won numerous awards. In 2012, Hiu Lai received the Grand Prize and Artist's Choice Award at Plein Air Easton, Maryland. She was featured in the November issue of Plein Air Magazine by Editor-in-Chief Steve Doherty. In 2016, She received Certificate of Excellence award from International Portrait Competition by Portrait Society of America. Hiu Lai is an artist member of the California Arts Club, Portrait Society of America, Signature Member of the Oil Painters of America, the American Society of Marine Artists and Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painter Association, Laguna Plein Air Painter Association, and member of the Washington Society of Landscape Painters.