How are you?

This is the penultimate week of the second semester of the first class year of my study in Chinese National Academy of Arts.

In the passed several days, I experienced many “First Times”.

-- First time, I got a good praise by Professor Man Weiqi who is the executive vice - dean of Chinese Painting School at Chinese National Academy of Arts in our last class Thursday morning. He said to all students: Shirley has a dream to combine music, poetry and language with Chinese painting together, to spread Chinese culture in the world. Really, with the attitude down to earth, she worked hardest and has made the biggest progress in the classes, now she has had the ability to take part in many exhibitions... Meanwhile, he pointed out the weaknesses in my paintings and wished me to improve myself in the future study.

-- First time, I learned how to paint squirrels. After reading many paintings by some great ancient artists, observing more than 150 pictures of squirrels, I painted two paintings of squirrel and grape. I have finally performed a promise I did in 2010 -- to paint a painting of grape for a professor in Springfield, Missouri, USA.

-- First time, I studied and painted wisteria flowers seriously. Since it is one of the important flowers in Chinese paintings. I did wish to paint it, but I had not dared to touch it for I did not know its structure very well. So, this week, I wished to resolve this problem in my study.

Because it is the season that wisteria has faded, I downloaded over 300 pictures, looked at the structures of the flowers one by one, until I felt that I could paint them by a pen freely, I tried to paint my first wisteria painting ( 61cm x 245cm) on Saturday. Then I learned something behind the wisteria flowers and re-looked at the flowers again.

I will paint more wisteria next week and write the stories behind the wisteria painting for you then. :- )

-- First time, I painted 6 paintings in one week.

-- First time, I will have an opportunity to sign an agreement with a university press as an individual, to work in the comprehensive art field on both of the paper and electronic media, while to fight with the sicknesses at the same time.

I had signed many agreements for the companies, this time, I am going to work for my own dream. Even though I can feel some uncomfortable on my belly when I write this letter to you in the middle night right now, I feel happiness in my heart. After all, I will have an opportunity to work by the good help from more media and experts, to contribute my limited life on something meaningful and helpful for more people.

After experiencing so many “First Times” in the short week, my feeling is: there are too many things I need to learn just in the field of flower and bird field painting. So that I am in a little bit hesitation on whether I should be major in landscape, maybe I should continue to study flower and bird painting next semester? :- )

If you were me, what would you do?

Do you have anything to share this week?

I am just a student on Art of Painting, Music, English and Management, to work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do a few things with what I have learned to make this little web site to be an Electronic Bridge of Inter-Art & Cross - Culture Exchange, Chinese Language Learning & Friendship Making. To help the others while to improve myself.

I would like to appreciate you for your understanding, directions, supports and help.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you are welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn or leave your message on Message Board.

Shirley Yiping Zhang
July 9, 2012(Beijing Time)