"Pastures of Heaven" 30" x 40" Oil on Canvas Steele Xiang is a versatile Chinese artist who paints high-key landscapes of the California foothills, moody scenes depicting life along China's historic canals, and beautifully realized still lifes. Xiang was born in Beijing in 1947 and because he was a precocious talent he was selected for the Beijing Children's Palace Art Academy. His works were shown in a number of major exhibitions for young artists. When Xiang was fifteen he won entrance to the demanding nine-year program at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, the most prestigious art school in China. At the Central Academy he studied with instructors who had been trained in Europe and the Soviet Union. Like many Chinese artists, his career was interrupted by the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), but during these tragic years he began teaching at the Shanghai Teacher's University. In Shanghai he began illustrating books and magazines and won national fame with his painting titled "Elapse." He emigrated to the United States in 1988, settling in northern California, and has exhibited throughout the United States since that time.