In both content and form, Ho's and Liu's work differed radically from that of their contemporaries. Unlike Ho and Liu, who lived and died abroad, the remainder of the older generation of painters, such as Liu's contemporary Chen Cheng-po and Ho's contemporaries Yang San-lang, Li Mei-shu, and Li Shih-chiao, all spent their lives in Taiwan.
對照於與劉錦堂同時期的陳澄波，以及與何德來同時期的楊三郎、李梅樹、李石樵，這些客死他鄉的台灣畫家，與在台灣的前輩畫家在創作形式與內容上，有完全不同的呈現。