Liu Jinduo, an artist in Shaoyang, Central China's Hunan province, was busy carving on porcelain to create a special artwork to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, which falls on Thursday.

 

An inheritor of porcelain carving, Liu spent over 30 years creating pictures of human figures, flowers, birds and natural scenery on porcelain with special tools. The art of porcelain carving was appreciated by royals and noble people during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

 

"It's different from painting. Painting is to add color, but porcelain carving is to cut glaze, which asks for precise operation. If you fail to operate correctly once, you have to give up the whole porcelain," he said.

 

To improve his skills, Liu studied artistic design at Hunan Normal University in Changsha, Hunan's capital, for three years in the 1980s. He also travelled to Beijing, Tianjin and East China's Shandong province to learn from other folk artists.

 

He decided to develop artwork with his own style, which combines Western painting style in carving of human figures. Now, his portrait artwork is known for its vivid depictions of hair, pores and facial expressions. His most renowned work includes porcelain carvings for Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's painting master, Qi Baishi.

 

His workshop in Changsha welcomes numerous tourists from home and abroad every year. In March, he began to create a series of works themed "I am a CPC member", aiming to reflect images of CPC members from different ages and different industries.