One artist's pursuit of beauty

While many Chinese overseas artists are switching to other more lucrative fields, Huang Shanye, a painter of the Zhuang ethnic group, stands out as an exception. His art has gradually earned him fame over the course of his more than 20 years in the United States. He was even able to leave behind his steady job as an art teacher and fully devote himself to what he describes as a pursuit of beauty.

The common theme of Huang's many works lies in the combination of traditional Chinese elements and Western painting techniques. "I apply Chinese calligraphy, paper cutting, facial makeup of Peking Opera, embroidery - all the things that I can find in traditional Chinese culture - to Western oil painting," Huang said at an exhibition held recently in his home county of Montgomery, Maryland in the US, where friends and neighbors had come to view some of his work.

One of Huang's works in the show, which had been featured on the exhibition's flier, served as a good example.