Graduated from the Malaysian Institute of Art (MIA) in 1970, Cheah is at the forefront of a unique approach in traditional Chinese ink painting – finger painting. Instead of brush, this medium requires the meticulous use of fingers to apply ink and colour to create gestural and expressive strokes for the subject matter, imbuing an impeccable sense of fluidity and vitality across the picture plane. Within this area, Cheah has established himself with an unshakable status in the Malaysian art scene. He is a mentor of the Cheah Institute of Art and the Malaysian Institute of Finger Painting.

Having held his first solo at the Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (1979), Cheah held further solos in Kuala Lumpur at Art House Gallery (1985), Le Beaux Gallery (1987) and Chin Woo Art Gallery (1998, 2002 & 2008), as well as other states including Miri Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (1996) and Cheah Si Hock Haw Kong Kongsi Hall, Penang (2008). Cheah’s works were also exhibited at the National Art Gallery (1975), Taiwan Alumni Association of Malaysia (1978), Singapore (1990), Liaoning Provincial Museum, China (1991), Wuhan Art Museum, China (1992), Soka Gakkai Hall (2003 & 2004), Wisma Chinese Chamber of Commerce (2010), Oriental Art & Cultural Center (2011) and Wisma Fui Chiu, Klang (2014). Cheah’s works were selected and included in the publication - “Top 100 Chinese Finger-Painting Artists’ Artwork Collection” in 1992, which also won him special merit gold prize in China. In addition, a master in this distinctive technique, Cheah further provided eye-opening finger-painting demonstrations which were recorded by a Korean video troop (2001) and TV2 channel (2004).

1970年，谢焕洲从马来西亚艺术学院毕业，是该学院的第一届毕业生。他的指画作品含蕴朴实，拙凿苍古、墨韵丰足，在我国的艺书坛上，自成一家，是我国指画的唯一代表人物，拥有极其重要的艺术地位。指画艺术是中国流传的一种罕有的绘画艺术技巧。在进行指画创作时，画家以指为笔，靠着内心对绘画技巧的了解，以及对画题的感觉与理解，结合颜色与水的应用以及触觉，把艺术的心得表现于外，正所谓“得之于心，应之于指”。在中国现代的艺术中，指画造诣尤深的为潘天寿，当代的为周正元。而在中国以外的领域里，我国的谢焕洲，对水与色彩的融合应用，发挥自如，自得章法，不拘于传统水墨，亦不流失水墨原有的韵味，是指画艺术领域里其中一位佼佼者。

谢焕洲于1979年，在吉隆坡中华大会堂举行了第一场个人指画展。此后，他不只在吉隆坡各处持续举办了多场个展，如集珍庄画廊（1985），丹青画廊（1987）以及精武画廊（1998，2002和2008）；脚步亦不仅限于首都，而延伸至他州，如砂拉越美里中华工商会（1996）以及槟城谢氏福侯公（2008）。谢焕洲的作品于海内外积极展出，如国家画廊（1975）、新加坡（1990）、中国辽宁省博物馆（1991）、中国武汉美术中心（1992）、大马国际现代书画联盟交流展（2003）、森美兰艺术协会画展（2004）、隆雪中华总商会（2010）、东方人文艺术馆（2011）及雪隆惠州会馆（2014）。他精妙的指画过程曾被韩国录影队（2001）及TV2 录影队（2004）录制并进行播放。除此，谢焕洲不只自己创作，也着重于指画教育与推广，是谢氏美术研究班以及马来西亚指画研究会的导师。