Karl Bang's paintings are unique because he combines totally different styles of painting within the same format. It is very difficult to design a balanced composition with realistic elements that are juxtaposed with flat colors and patterns. The faces of his subjects are painted realistically in the Western tradition with subtle gradations of color; while, his figures and costumes vignette into abstracted shapes, lines, flat colors and patterns that reflect Karl's background in China. It is as though there are different visual languages being spoken within his paintings.

Elephants spray villagers with water in celebration of the Songkran water festival in Thailand's Ayutthaya province, north of Bangkok, April 10, 2015. The annual elephant Songkran is held to promote the tourism industry prior the Songkran Festival which is celebrated with splashing water and putting powder on each others faces as a symbolic sign of cleansing and washing away the sins from the old year. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)

A cat Loki with a pair of distinctive fangs has quickly become one of the most famous felines on Instagram thanks to evil-looking face. Loki, who now has more than 23,000 followers online, was adopted from a cat shelter by her owner Kaet, who explained on in a posting that she knows very little about the cat’s distinctive appearance. Adopted from a cat shelter, nothing was mentioned to his owner Kaet about her kitten's unique features.

Fishermen collect their catch from a net at Dojran Lake, Macedonia, January 4, 2017. Fish from the lake is a traditional food for locals for orthodox Christmas eve, which falls on January 6. The lake faced sustainability issues during the 1990s due to drought and excessive use of its water but has since recovered after measures were taken to replenish and sustain water levels, according to local media. Dojran Lake is one of the three natural lakes in Macedonia, and also the warmest. It is said it is also the richest lake in fish in Europe. (Photo by Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)

Stones collected and categorised by shape (fish) are seen at the home workshop of Luigi Lineri in Zevio, near Verona, Italy, June 10, 2016. Luigi Lineri's home workshop is covered in stones – tens of thousands of them. They resemble animal heads, human faces and other forms, and the artist and poet believes may have been shaped by prehistoric humans. (Photo by Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters)

A reveller reacts during a water fight at Songkran Festival celebrations in Bangkok April 13, 2016. The three-day Songkran Festival starts on 13-15 April annually and is celebrated with splashing water and putting powder on each others faces as a symbolic sign of cleansing and washing away the sins from the old year. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

In this Monday, January 18, 2016 photo, Iranian rock climber, Farnaz Esmaeilzadeh, scales a climbing gym in the city of Zanjan, some 330 kilometers (207 miles) west of the capital Tehran, Iran. Esmaeilzadeh, 27, who has been climbing since she was 13, has distinguished herself in international competitions despite the barriers she faces as a female athlete in conservative Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)