One would be lucky to study under the instruction of a reputed artist, let alone several.

While Zhao Yitang studied in Beijing in the 1950s, his school, then the Beijing Arts College, gathered talented painters such as Wei Tianlin, Li Ruinian and Luo Guanzhong. They taught Zhao how to integrate Chinese aesthetic values with Western art styles in a graceful manner.

At his ongoing exhibition, A Path of Seven Decades, Zhao, a retired educator now 88, displays vivid paintings with a sense of rhythm and elegance that soothe the eyes and heart.

His calligraphic pieces reveal another side of his artistic exploration and his devotion to the practice of lishu, the clerical script of Chinese calligraphy. Also on display are published albums, and classical lishu writings on paper, in books, and on centuries-old stone tablets.

The exhibition is showing at the National Art Museum of China until Jan 3.