He has never imposed artificial restrictions on himself in terms of what he could learn, teach and paint. Among ink-wash painters Cheng has a particularly strong grasp of Western art, drawing inspiration for his own work from Renaissance art and contemporary Western painters, as well as the Japanese ukiyo-e school of painting and Indian religious art.
他對於西洋美術的研究及瞭解是水墨畫家中少見的，不論是文藝復興時期的創作、當代藝術大師，甚至日本浮世繪、印度宗教畫，都是他吸收養分的對象。