However, the tools that he uses when painting were very much Chinese-brush, ink, palette for traditional Chinese painting, and xuan paper, a high-quality rice paper good for traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy. Apart from this, he uses lines, signatures and seals, which are all elements of traditional Chinese painting.

"Liu's works should not be defined as traditional Chinese paintings in the real sense," said Shang Hui, Editor in Chief of the Beijing-based Fine Arts magazine. In his eyes, Liu stresses the characteristics of Chinese ink as a kind of medium and connects this material with the art concepts of the West.

"On one hand, there is the orient phenomenon in his works through the infiltration of Chinese ink on xuan paper and the mergence among different colors, and on the other hand, his works have a strong representational style, which is the fruit of the painter's efforts to blend the wash painting skills of China and the Western fine arts," Shang comments.

But, although his works borrow some Western form of presentation, Liu emphasized that he still retains the tradition and essence of the art of Chinese painting. In his view, maintaining tradition and remaining creative should be a simultaneous goal of any artist.

In traditional Chinese painting, works about flowers, birds and animals make up an important part of the complete repertoire of painting skills. But the subjects on Liu's works are different, as he paints animals that few have used before such as zebras, rhinos, elephants, hippos, crocodiles and parrots.

More importantly, as traditional Chinese painting pays especial attention to the energy of a work, Liu always paints the eyes of animals at the final stage of his creation. "I put the most difficult and also the most crucial part of the animal at the end to seize the spirit and make it come alive."

Simone F Brunau, Chairperson of the International Art Center in Paris, said the myth-like animals that emerge from Liu's brush are very eye-catching. "They look truer than live ones, seeming to run off the paper," said Brunau.

Referring to the impact of the Western culture and the difficulty of preserving and passing on traditional Chinese culture, Liu said that this is the reality that Chinese artists have to face and a problem that they need to resolve.

"Nevertheless, compared with the past, comparisons between and research into Chinese and Western painting are deeper and have a broader realm, which has created a good platform for handing down and further developing traditional Chinese painting," Liu said.