[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhang Ben, who grew up in the city of Huangshan, in Anhui province, is steeped in the picturesque scenery of the Yellow Mountain.

He gained his initial understanding of art in childhood by learning oil painting from Hong Ling, a teacher at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, who spends months every year painting on the Yellow Mountain.

After enrolling at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, he studied oil painting from other eminent artists, including Chao Ge, Zhu Naizheng and Jin Shangyi. And their guidance helped him develop his own classical style and a color scheme.