An art exhibition where each painting features a little girl wearing traditional Chinese clothing in front of a classical background attracted people's attention. (Photo/Wechat account: xiandaikuaibao)
An art exhibition where each painting features a little girl wearing traditional Chinese clothing in front of a classical background attracted attention in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province.
The little girl's father, who is also the painter, is a 32-year-old Wuxi artist named Wan Li. He spent three years painting 15 pieces, recording his daughters' life and appearance in pictures.
It takes Wan Li eight to ten hours each day to meticulously depict his daughters' facial expressions, their clothes and the textures of different objects. The backgrounds – landscapes, flowers, butterflies, etc. – are painted after finishing the main figures.
Wan Li integrates elements of traditional Chinese paintings and detailed Western oil paintings to depict poetic oriental imagery. His daughters enjoy being dressed up in traditional clothes. "They wear elements of the cheongsam everyday", said Wan.
Wan Li's two daughters are too young to keep one pose for long. He is used to observing their actions in daily life and taking plenty of pictures to catch their typical expressions.
"I feel like I'm talking to my daughters when I'm painting. It will help me remember their childhood", said Wan, "Paintings are more valuable and appealing than photos. I hope these paintings can help them remember their parents' love when they grow up."
