Yuan's water and ink scene of a Tomb Sweeping Festival is modeled on Ming and Qing riverside paintings. He feels that the conflicts of social movements, however, are best captured by the thick, heavy oils of Western painting.
墓園景象，他仿照「清明上河圖」，繪成了長十餘公尺的清明掃墓圖，不過「群眾運動」這類主題，凝重的氣氛與衝突張力，卻只有西式油畫的厚重油彩才能凸顯。