QiuYacai's portraits present "a reality shaped by images, thoughts and impressions". He observes his characters as a Post of a Poet (lot 344), 1990, the bust of the poet occupies most of the pictorial space. The figure has an oval face, almond-shaped eyes, and a calm but slightly lonely expression. Although there is slight modeling on his face, which gives the contours a sense of three-dimensionality, the brows, the shape of the lips and other facial details have been delineated with calligraphic strokes. Qiu Yacai captures powerfully the inner feelings of the character through the facial expression.
In Literati (lot 345), Qiu Yacai portrays a man with a gentle, serene expression, who is sitting in an unassuming manner. His scholarly elegance is underscored by the humble clothing he is wearing. The colour gradations in the background also point to the character's inner contentment and rejection of societal norms.
This is illustrated in Wang Shan-Ben Sitting in a Caf? (Lot 342), where the artist is concerned with the reserved, silent expression of the thin male figure sitting next to a coffee table. Similarly, in Untitled (Lot 343), the artist draws attention to the expressive but serene upward gaze of a different male figure. In both of these works, the artist has inherited traditional Chinese sketching methods in drawing the contours and "essence" of the figures. Thus, less stress is made on three-dimensionality. Similar hues are used in the background and in the clothing to foster a quiet and pure atmosphere.
Although the identities of his figures are different, Qiu Yacai conveys a universal feeling of loneliness and sadness through his own unique artistic diction. His works evoke the Chinese artistic ideal of "being able to encapsulate essence with form". This"essence" is beyond the representation of joy, anger, sadness and happiness, pointing to the truthful, natural qualities that define human beings.