This undated photo shows Chinese artist Zhang Yaoming painting. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - Zhang Yaoming, a celebrated Chinese artist and a member of the China Artists Association, has earned critical recognition from peers and connoisseurs alike thanks to his distinctive artistic voice informed by a keen sense of the beauty of nature and an acute perception of life. 

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Zhang adds a contemporary twist to the traditional ink and water art, and the resultant visual is strikingly fresh.

 Pan Lusheng, president, Shandong Federation of Literary and Art Circles

 “Zhang’s art pieces are imbued with a palpable enthusiasm, and it is which that touches and engages the viewers,” says Fu Jingsheng, famous Chinese artist and chief editor of the magazine China Painting Center. "More importantly, his masterful employment of a medley of art techniques shapes his personal artistic language, which further renders the characteristic inky texture on the rice paper to the fullest,” Fu said, referring to Zhang’s distinctive style.  

“Zhang adds a contemporary twist to the traditional ink and water art, and the resultant visual is strikingly fresh,” said Pan Lusheng, president of Shandong Federation of Literary and Art Circles. 

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The late renowned artist and literary theorist Li Qimin spoke highly of Zhang’s artistic sophistication and attainment. In a 2011 foreword for a book of prints of Zhang’s signature paintings, Li wrote, “Zhang has a keen sight and mind for discerning the delicate beauty of nature, which introduces a breath of fresh air into Zhang’s ink and water art. This is not simply a matter of technical change, but a transformative shift of the direction of appreciating aesthetics. In other words, his creation touches the soul of the art. 

“Zhang has carved out a distinctive artistic language, which showcases his great command of art. And coincidentally, it is this artistic language that brings us back to the root of Chinese traditional art, offering us a glimpse into the Lao Zhuang philosophy which has perpetrated Chinese art culture from history to present.”

Below are some of Zhang Yaoming's light-colored paintings depicting scenes of everyday life.

(PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)