A painting from the "Suspension" series by Liu Yanfeng. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Though there are differences, Liu is trying to find some similarities between Western and Oriental art. "I want to express using pure Western painting language, while using the aesthetic view of Oriental culture."

Using realism, Liu meticulously sets up the scenes in his paintinsg like a director with a drama. The characters in the painting seem to narrate their stories emotionally and bring audiences to the scene. Thus, his paintings always have people lingering and lost in deep thought.

Having studied the genres of art design, oil painting, and traditional Chinese painting, Liu has gradually formed his own art style. His artworks are collected by many art institutions and painting albums. His 1996 painting titled "Samsara" won an award for its creativity during the US's ASIS art contest.

Though not born to a family of artists, Liu showed his gift for art since childhood. When he was two years old, he still couldn't hold a pen well, but surprisingly he drew a lifelike bird. During a summer holiday in his primary school years, his mom bought him some plasticine, which was a popular toy at the time. He later created models of more than 100 figures from the Chinese classics The Romance of Three Kingdoms and The Water Margin using the plasticine. This amazed his family and he was later introduced to a teacher at a local art academy, who brought him onto the road of art.

"If a child is indulged in something, that may be the start of his career," Liu said, and he feels lucky that his family encouraged him to walk on the road of art.