Lao Shu's paintings feature Mr Long Gown as the main character. [Photo/China Daily]

As Liu says: "When I'm drawing, my eyes drift apart from my body. I'm actually observing behind the lens.

"Cameras overcome the limitations that our ancestors had, enabling me to look at things from various angles, including from space."

Liu, who graduated from Tianjin's Nankai University in 1983, where he was attracted to traditional Chinese paintings, took up his job at Central University of Finance and Economics' Chinese Language Department, "as the capital offers more chances for art exhibitions".

"I was drawing like crazy in my university days, mimicking masters like Qi Baishi," he recalls, adding there was only one desk in the dormitory, so he had to seize the nights and noon breaks to practice drawing.

He says he took a break in 1986, because though "I can draw beautifully, I could not find my own style".

It was only in 2007, when he was looking after his sick father, that he picked up painting again, randomly to deal with insomnia.

"When I found that I did not need to prove myself to others anymore, I could find my own style," he says.

Describing his works, he says: "I paint for fun, and I don't take it really seriously."