(Clearwisdom.net)

A two-day Chinese traditional painting exhibition gave the people of Riga an opportunity to gain more appreciation of Chinese art. The painter, Ms. Zhang Cuiying is an Australian artist who was born and raised in China. We can see her in person at the exhibition held in the Nature Museum.

Ms. Zhang Cuiying is now 40 years old. She began to learn painting when she was as young as 10 years old. Many Chinese artists recognized her gift as a painter. Most of Ms. Zhang's works draw on Chinese natural scenes for their subjects, combined with poems and portraits of Buddhas. Ms. Zhang has been to over 20 countries. Today in Riga, you can enjoy the opportunity to meet her, too. Tomorrow, her painting exhibition will move to its next stop, Los Angeles.

Ms. Zhang said that when she was 34 years old, she became very ill. In order to get her health back, she started practicing Falun Gong. Now, she is able to draw like before.

"This is the first time I come to Riga." She said, "This is a clean and beautiful city. The people here are very cheerful and optimistic. I feel so well here as if I were at my home in Australia."

This young female artist's (Ms. Zhang Cuiying) works have been exhibited in many counties including Japan, France, the U.S., Australia, Czech and so on. Most of her art works depict heroes in epics. She has also typical Chinese landscape paintings, portraits of Buddhas, peasants, tigers, horses, women, dancers, flowers and paintings depicting prisons. The paintings about prison were not done inadvertently, because the artist who was born in 1962 had been imprisoned for over 8 months. (Editor's note: Ms. Zhang was wrongfully imprisoned when she went back China to appeal for Falun Gong) During that period of time, she had been on hunger strike for 2 months. Later, with the help from the Australian Government, she regained her freedom.

Ms. Zhang is accomplished in painting. Her art works will let people get some more appreciation for Chinese watercolors. Her works also preserve the natural style of the great Chinese artists, Shen Shiqing and Shi Tao.

We should let these art works be displayed in every exhibition hall. With the accompaniment of deep and euphonic music, please enjoy a leisurely tour of the exhibit and you will experience a bit of the everlasting sacred feeling that is inherent in the east.