Accidental artists (2)

Her work on display is called My Family, a picture of a house covered with snow.

"I used to hate gray clouds and cold winter. But after learning how to paint, I learn to appreciate common objects and interpret them in my own way through colors," she says, adding that she was inspired by a snowy morning during this year's Spring Festival.

Another mother, Wei Yu, 41, who has been learning painting at Chen's studio since November 2012, also says that painting cured her depression.

"I participated in some activities, such as yoga class. I even shopped a lot to make myself feel good, which turned out to be worse," she recalls.

"I thought learning painting was not for me. I attended painting classes in primary school and they were boring," says Wei, who has a 13-year-old daughter.

"But here I can paint freely and without thinking about techniques. I feel happy even when I paint a bag I carry to the supermarket every day.

"Painting is a way to relax and distract myself from anxiety and worries," she adds.

Chen, who has run the children's painting class since 2004, decided to have a class for adults in September 2012 because of increasing demand from the children's mothers. Now, he has more than 100 mothers in his classes.

Chen says the classes for adults, like those for children, do not follow a strict structure.

For mothers, he says, painting is a way to get their social life and confidence back after the arrival of their children.

The artist, who graduated from Minzu University of China in oil painting, started giving art classes after he became a father himself a decade ago. He loved watching the way his daughter paints, which does not follow any particular technique.

He says children's paintings are the most beautiful works in the world. "My daughter only had hair after she was 3 years old, and so in her paintings, all the girls have no hair. As she grows up and starts having hair, she paints girls with long dark hair, colorful skirts and even high heels," says Chen.

"Children have the inborn talent to paint. It is natural," he says. "Painting should be fun and not a burden. I believe that applies to adults in the same way."

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