Responding to the market, artists at Dafen Oil Painting Village, China's largest oil painting export base, are turning their brushes from copying the old masters to original works. And the market keeps growing.

According to Zhang Ke, a staff member of the village, sales of paintings made in Dafen hit 140 million yuan (US$17 million) last year, with original works accounting for 30 percent. Two years ago, originals were only 10 percent of total sales.

Gu Feng, an oil painter in the village, said Shenzheners are increasingly interested in original works and overseas buyers have started coming to Dafen.

Gu said some local people now want to know whether the oil paintings are original before buying. A customer surnamed Liu said, "I don't want duplicates. I need to decorate my house with original paintings and they are also an investment."

Dafen has started attracting overseas art dealers, and Gu was one of the painters selected by a US dealer last month. The artist said one of his works was purchased last month in a US exhibition for US$20,000.

A local painting and calligraphy dealer, Fu Xiangyun, said the average price for an oil painting in the village was around 1,000 yuan.

Taking the lead from abroad on what's worth buying, Gu said that works first receiving good reviews in overseas exhibitions then sell on the Chinese mainland for a good price. Fu said he was in the market for workshops or painters to invest in. "It is ideal timing for investment since the price is low and the market is gradually expanding. The prices of the works targeted by overseas dealers will soon rise on the mainland," he said.

(Shenzhen Daily December 8, 2005)