A sketching art exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing is showing sketches that are not only as a classroom exercise but also as a finished work. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Sketching has been a basis of fine art teaching and a criteria to judge an artist's skills. A sketching art exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing is showing sketches that are not only as a classroom exercise but also as a finished work.

The works display how much time an artist invests to improve techniques and ability to observe. Also they provide new perspectives to look at sketching art when artists use only a pencil, or a Chinese brush, and very few colors of black, white and gray to present the richness of art.

Participating artists are teachers and students from the country's nine major fine art colleges. The exhibition runs through Oct 8.