A painting featuring a Chinese opera singer is on display. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A personal exhibition that highlights the artistic elements of China and Morocco kicked off on May 9 at the Yintai Centre Beijing. The painter, Nouria El Alami, wife of Morocco's ambassador to China, showcased her love and understanding of Moroccan and Chinese culture through her paintings and staged the exhibition as a charity sale for children.

About 30 art pieces El Alami produced during her stay in China are on display, and the works are vividly imaginative and in mixed styles. Coming from Morocco, the North African country known for its beautiful landscapes, El Alami's unique understanding of color and light shines through her work.

"Her paintings feature a distinctive use of color. It's rich, diverse and expressive. It reveals vivid mental images," said Sophie Guo, an artist and curator of the exhibition.

Another highlight of her paintings is the application of Chinese cultural elements. Images of traditional Chinese opera, Chinese embroidery patterns and the style of traditional Chinese painting can be easily seen in her work.

"I like Chinese embroidery very much. It's so delicate and so hard to produce that I haven't seen anything like it anywhere else," said El Alami, wearing traditional Chinese clothes with an embroidery pattern she designed."Many Chinese people don't like this any more and I hope to revitalize it through my art work."

Apart from the canvas and color inks, materials such as cloth are also used in her paintings, which make the pieces more dynamic and alive.