Qi Baishi is widely considered as one of the greatest Chinese ink painters of the last century. Even after more than half a century since his death, his name still rings loud and clear. An exhibition is currently underway at the National Art Museum in Beijing to commemorate his life and work.

Although not the first painter to illustrate small things in nature, Qi Baishi created his style while doing so. The artist created plenty of common sights, such as animals, vegetables, landscape and people with his ink brushes.

With simple colors, sometimes only black ink, Qi was able to give each of the creatures a different look or characteristics.

"There's a child living in his mind," one visitor told CGTN.

"I like the painting behind me. The crabs look so playful that they overturned the basket. They seem to be happily playing together. I could feel the pleasant mood when he's painting. The big fish, the chirping bird... these adorable illustrations are expressing happiness."

The exhibition uses Qi's works to provide insight into the freehand spirit of Chinese art. It focuses on his freehand ink painting theory, highlighting that the best thing to do is not depicting things exactly as what they are.

Qi believed that painting must be something between likeness and unlikeness. If the painting is a lot like the reality, it's vulgar. But if it's not like the real stuff, it would be kind of cheating.

He is especially acclaimed for painting shrimps.

He lived next to ponds when he was a child, and was very familiar with the creatures. At an early age, Qi started to draw them, and kept doing that for decades. During his later years, the shrimps were illustrated as if they really floating above the water, with just a little bit of ink.

"The most important part of Chinese art is the spiritual expression. It's based on reality, but means more than that. Qi Baishi had found a balance between ideals and reality. Something between likeness and unlikeness... that's a poetic expression, and it applies to both reality and artistic creation," said Wu Weishan, curator of the National Art Museum.

Qi's masterpieces will be exhibited at the museum until May 4.