The fresh greens of spring, the lush abundance of summer, the brilliant colors of autumn, and the quiet stillness of winter—in the paintings of artist Liu Ziyu, the ever-changing colors and light of the four seasons are not merely subjects for painting. They have also become a way for him to experience the beauty of creation and to express gratitude and praise.

Last Sunday, Peace Media made a special visit to Harvest Church of New York to interview artist Liu Ziyu, inviting him to share his artistic journey, creative philosophy, and how he uses brushwork and color to express his appreciation and praise for the beauty of God's creation.

In the interview, Liu Ziyu explained that his work focuses primarily on the study and creation of landscape oil paintings. After coming to the United States, the rich and ever-changing natural scenery of New Jersey also became a new source of inspiration for his art.

In August 2026, Liu Ziyu held a solo exhibition at the Plainsboro Public Library in New Jersey titled “Rhythms of Nature.” The exhibition featured mainly landscapes of New Jersey that he created after coming to the United States. Through scenes from spring, summer, autumn, and winter, the exhibition presented the constantly changing colors, light, and rhythms of the natural world.

During the interview, Liu said, “What I mainly paint are scenes from New Jersey that I have encountered since coming to the United States, portraying the four seasons. That is why this exhibition is called ‘Rhythms of Nature’—to present different landscapes through the changing seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.”

For Liu Ziyu, nature is not a static landscape, but a living presence with its own rhythm and vitality, constantly changing with the seasons. The emerging greens of spring, the dense woods of summer, the rich colors of autumn, and the quiet stillness after winter snow all become subjects of his observation and painting.

In addition to Liu Ziyu’s own works, the exhibition also included paintings by several students who had previously studied under him. He said, “For this exhibition, I also invited several students whom I have taught before. Some of their outstanding works were exhibited together with mine, allowing us to share our personal impressions and some of the beautiful scenery we experienced during the process of outdoor sketching and artistic creation.” Yet for Liu Ziyu, painting nature is about far more than choosing an artistic subject.

During the interview, he spoke specifically about why he is so drawn to painting natural landscapes. He said, “I love painting these natural landscapes because they are all created by God.” This statement also provides an important key to understanding Liu Ziyu’s artistic vision. To him, a tree, a forest, a patch of sky, a snowfall, or even an inconspicuous flower in nature is never merely an object to be painted.

Behind these scenes, he sees creation itself. In fact, the theme of “creation” has long held an important place in Liu Ziyu’s artistic work.

In 2019, when he held a solo exhibition in Moscow, he titled it “The Beauty of Creation.” Speaking about that exhibition in his interview with Peace Media, Liu said:

“When I held a solo exhibition in Moscow in 2019, one of the themes was ‘The Beauty of Creation.’ Whenever I paint these natural landscapes, I am able to deeply experience the goodness and beauty of God’s creation. It is truly marvelous.” Artists who observe nature over long periods often develop a more refined sensitivity to its intricacies than the average person. How branches and leaves extend, how light passes through the woods, the subtle shifts of color across snow-covered ground, and the way the seasons transform the colors of the earth—when an artist slows down and truly observes these details, he can increasingly appreciate the order and wonder inherent in nature itself.

Liu Ziyu reflected, “Even if we spend our entire lives trying, humanity can never reach the level of intricacy found in what God has created.”  This statement may also explain how he understands the relationship between art and nature. An artist can paint a tree, but cannot make a tree truly grow; can paint a flower, but cannot give it life; can depict sunlight, but cannot create the actual sun.

In the face of the limitations of human creativity, nature itself causes the artist to become even more aware of the wonder of creation. Yet precisely because of this, painting takes on a meaning for Liu Ziyu that goes beyond technique alone. Human beings may not be able to reproduce God’s creation, but they can observe it with their eyes, experience it with their hearts, and respond through the artistic gifts they have been given.

Liu Ziyu said, “But we should use our emotions, our brushes, and our colors to give thanks to God and to praise God.”  This was also one of the most direct statements in the interview and perhaps the clearest expression of his artistic philosophy.

His brush is not meant to compete with nature, but to help people see nature anew.

Modern life is hurried, and a tree, a flower, or a stretch of sky often becomes little more than background scenery that people pass by each day. Yet through the artist’s observation and brushwork, these seemingly ordinary scenes are brought before viewers again, inviting them to slow down and look carefully once more. Liu Ziyu’s artistic journey has also been shaped by the meeting of Eastern and Western artistic traditions.

He received professional art training in Beijing in his early years and later continued his studies in Chinese painting and related fields. In 2015, he went to Russia for further study, receiving professional artistic training in Moscow and later entering the Moscow State Stroganov Academy of Design and Applied Arts to pursue a doctoral degree.

Years of study and artistic practice have given his work both the influence of Russian realist painting, particularly in its observation of nature, light, and color, and the sense of atmosphere, restraint, and poetic expression emphasized in traditional Chinese painting.

From China to Russia and then to the United States, the locations have changed and so have the landscapes before him, but the central subject of Liu Ziyu’s work has remained constant—nature, and the beauty of creation that points to the Creator behind it.

The exhibition “Rhythms of Nature” is an artistic record of Liu Ziyu’s encounter with a new environment and new landscapes after coming to the United States. It also continues his longstanding reflection on “the beauty of creation.” From the four seasons to forests, lakes, skies, and the earth, he repeatedly records the world he sees through his brush. Yet behind these works, his message is not simply, “This place is beautiful.” More importantly, he asks: Where does this beauty come from?

For Liu Ziyu, the answer is clear. Nature is God’s creation, and the artist’s brush can become a way of responding to that creation. Therefore, when he lifts his brush before a landscape, painting is no longer only about form, color, and technique. It also becomes an act of gratitude.

As Liu Ziyu said in his interview with Peace Media, “We should use our emotions, our brushes, and our colors to give thanks to God and to praise God.”

From “The Beauty of Creation” to “Rhythms of Nature,” from the forests and snowy landscapes of Russia to the seasonal scenery of New Jersey, Liu Ziyu has continued to observe and portray nature in his own way.

Through his brush, he records the beauty of nature, and through his art, he praises the Creator who made it all.