The Binhu district of Wuxi, Jiangsu province, has a folk artist, Shi Jun, who has come up with a novel idea for attracting attention by using human hair in his paintings.[Photo/xbhb.net]

The Binhu district of Wuxi, Jiangsu province, has a folk artist, Shi Jun, who has come up with a novel idea for attracting attention by using human hair in his paintings of everything imaginable, such as dogs, fish, and elegant handwriting.

When asked about the source of his work, Shi replied, "I got the idea seven years ago when it came to me that I might try use hair, but then I found it was not so easy since human hair was easily broken. I tried a number of times, and finally finished my first work after half a year."

He went on to explain that each strand of hair has to be softened and that its substance and color differ from person to person and that he had to develop some strong glue to stick the hair together.

In his leisure time, he likes to watch animals to study their nuance of the character and also pays attention to color changes in tree branches and human facial contours for visual verisimilitude of his painting.

As he talked he expressed his excitement by saying that he is now working on a hair version of the Chinese masterpiece, Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, and expects to finish it in five years.