Paintings on village houses are an unusual attraction

Liu Tie, deputy director of Artists' Farm, said the project started in September. Last year, Cihui Street launched a program to enhance Dawangtai village, and decided to renovate the exterior walls of houses. The village's Chinese Art Gallery then proposed the idea of inviting members of Hubei Artist Salon to do the paintings. The idea was immediately approved by the subdistrict.

About 10 painters accepted the invitation. The artists are enthusiastic about the project even though it's not for profit. Before starting to draw, they brainstormed about painting styles and arrangements for every work.

"Famous paintings are integrated into these wall paintings along with local customs," Liu said.

Peng Wei, a teacher at a fine arts institution, was drawing a flower stamen for a painting whose theme was the four seasons. The flowers in the painting, including pomegranate, osmanthus, lotus and plum, are representative of Cihui.

"I've known the two artists Yu Guoyou and Wang Yeguo for a long time. We hit it off immediately when the idea of creating this wall painting came up," he said.

Peng said that to make the painting look more down to earth, they chose to apply colors that are saturated and visually compelling. Because of the recent low temperatures, the water in the palette would freeze, but the three never lost their enthusiasm.