Self-taught artist has brush with fame at 80

Rising star

In addition to her everyday imagery, Yang also likes to let her imagination take flight, painting babies in clouds and winged pigs in trees.

Her talent was first noticed by her neighbors and relatives who wanted to buy her paintings to decorate their homes.

However, they would only offer 100 yuan ($14) for a painting. Yang declined the offers, saying it took her a lot of time to complete the artworks. She said she would rather give them away than sell them at such a low price.

Today, Yang only sells her work to people who appreciate her art, with smaller paintings fetching 5,000 yuan and larger works commanding up to 10,000 yuan.

Last September, her paintings were discovered by Du, the professor from Tsinghua University, when he attended a gathering with Liu who showed him images of her mother's works stored on her phone.

"Du was stunned by my mother's talent and said that even professional painters should learn from her," Liu said.

"He also encouraged my mother to draw more. The exhibition at 798 was hosted by Professor Du."

Yang has no plans to stop painting and intends to draw further on her childhood memories, even difficult ones.

"I was born during the war years when bombers would come and attack my hometown," Yang said. "That's an unforgettable memory. I will paint my memories as long as I am healthy, and leave more treasures for my children."