Touch of brilliance

Wu Qiming is able to create realistic ink and wash paintings with a traditional Chinese brush, Li Fusheng and Li Jin report.

China is not short of painters, both real and self-acclaimed. But Wu Qiming has shown his true talent by blazing a trail with innovative use of ink and wash.

Born in Shanxi province, Wu developed an affinity for art, especially painting, when he was a child. Yet the 57-year old did not work as a professional painter until he was laid off as a worker in the early 1990s and came to Beijing in 2002 in quest of his artistic dream.