Waste collector's self-taught oil painting skills amaze Chinese netizens

Living in a 15-square-meter bungalow, Wei Guangming, a waste collector born in 1972, has recently amazed thousands of cyber-citizens with his extraordinary self-taught oil painting skills.

Wei, who was born in east China's Anhui province, has been working in Shaoxing, east China's Zhejiang province, for over 10 years. During his free time, Wei takes great pleasure in teaching himself how to make oil paintings in his small rented home, which also serves as his personal art studio.

As of now, Wei has completed over 1,000 oil paintings. "These have been ordered by my customers. Now I am able to receive plenty of painting orders, about 30 paintings each month," Wei said while pointing towards a wall displaying his broad array of artworks.

Though Wei is able to secure a fairly decent income by selling his paintings through online platforms, he always sends the bulk of his earnings to his family in his hometown, leaving himself only some for necessary expenses.

According to Wei, he gets up at 6 a.m. to start his daily painting routine and spends his afternoon working as a waste collector. In the evening, he would invariably resume his painter's life and even “burn the "midnight oil” for his hobby.

"It is unbelievable for me to find out that this waste collector can finish such beautiful paintings," a netizen commented.