Yang Keshan (1944) was born in Xiahuyang, Henan Province, but he grew up in Qingdao, Shandong Province. He loved painting since he was a child. Since the 1960s, he has studied painting with Ye Boquan. Later, with the careful guidance of famous oil painters He Kongde, Gao Quan and Cui Kaixi, his painting skills improved by leaps and bounds.He graduated from the People's Liberation Army Academy in 1986, and became employed in the Chinese Military Museum.

Yang excels in oil painting. He currently resides overseas.