How are you? Have you had a good time in the past 2 weeks?

After having the lesson of painting from the nature in Linyi Area and then on the top of the Taishan Mountain in Shangdong Province, now I am writing to you in the campus of China Centeral Academy of Fine Arts.

I do think this is the hardest lesson, but, it is also the lesson that I have gotten most and made the biggest improvement since I came to CAFA. In my heart is full of the appreciation to the academy of fine arts and our tutors -- Professor Li Tiesheng and Mr. Li Gang. So, before going back to the classroom to start the new lesson of bird and flower painting, I would really like to summarize my feelings in the travel and to share something interesting with you.

First of all, I have some new feelings about Chinese classical philosophy and the painting theory from observing the nature closely. I truly feel something enjoyably similar among the different Chinese classical philosophies.

-- When I faced a tree and would like to paint it on my paper first time, when I found that almost every tree had more branches on one side of the trunk and less branches on the other side; every branch had a white side and a black side; if a branch was black, there was certainly another one white near it... from these natural phenomena, I could not help thinking of the Yin and Yang in the Taoism and the Middle Course in Confucianism. I suddenly had a feeling that no matter Taoism or the Confucianism, what the Chinese philosophy pursues may be the Balance.

As an important part of the Chinese cultures, maybe Chinese literati painting has been pursuing this kind of spirit and artistic ideal?

-- It seems like the traditional Chinese painting theory was summarized from these nature rules. Since everything in the nature is unity of opposites, then, the painting should express this kind of rules with our brush and ink?

Maybe this is just something our tutors often tell us: By something wet, should have dry; by something round, should have straight; by something tall, should have short … Always to pursue the change, always pay attention to reach the balance in the changes?

Secondly, I did realize that according to the Chinese traditional painting theory, painting from the nature is not the process to copy the nature itself only, but, it is the process to re-think, re-organize and re-create something we have seen. Sometime, it is a part of a creation; sometimes, it can be a true creation. As a student, what I should learn is the methods how to observe the nature things, how to organize them and how to express them with the best style.

Thirdly, I have seen my weakness once more. As Prof. Li Tiesheng told me that I need to improve my calligraphy level since it is affecting my development.

Fourthly, I was impression on the Middle China Culture and be touched by the enthusiasm, hospitality and sincerity of the local people.

-- In the first painting place in Yiling Area, some classmates and I wanted to work in the dining room in the night since it was not bright enough for us to paint in the bed rooms, the lady who worked there -- Mrs. Tang always cleaned a room for us as soon as we finished our dinner and to offered the convenience with smiles.

-- At a nightfall, by a creek that I painted often, I met a lovely boy who is 7 years old, after listening to him to recite a Chinese Classical poem by Li Bai ? Jing Ye Si, I carried my tools of painting to go through his home, by the gate of the house, his grandmother invited me to have a dinner in her family and their dog waves his tails to me. :- )

-- One afternoon, I lost my bag, when I was in a worrying, a man who is the manager of the base said that maybe I had lost it in the grocery since I just bought something inside? Then he opened the door of the store and I found back my bag from it.

-- A funny thing is that in the first base of us, I have known 3 dog friends, Little Black ? a big black dog , Diandian ? a little white dog and Pipi ? a brown baby dog. Every morning, when I was painting in the garden, they were always following me and around of me as my good friends, among them, the little white dog, Diandian is my best friend, in the morning, she waited me by my door, when I painted in the garden, she laid by my feet, and when I went to the mountain, she sent for me until the gate… the pity was that when I left for Taishan Mountain, I wanted to leave her a box of cake, she had left for somewhere with her host, so that we did not have any opportunity to say Good Bye.

Lastly, I have also gotten much happiness from helping the others.

-- Knowing my own painting foundation is not good enough, relying on the support of the medicine and my own willpower, bore the pain on my legs and fingers, I kept working for about 15 hours every day, to paint landscape outside in the day time, to paint stones inside in the nights, for saving time, instead of going back the base to eat lunch, most of time, I ate some cakes in the mountains. Meanwhile, I gave my hand to the classmates who needed help -- at least to see and to advise 3 girl classmates who were crying or did not want to eat meals to go to the dinning room and to keep in the team.

-- The biggest thing I did in the travel was to help a girl classmate who needed help with my heart, knowledge of psychology and a positive life attitude. Even though it spent much of my time and energy, sometimes, it also affected my own study and travel arrangement, when I saw her first, second, third and more smiles on her face, when I heard many classmates said that this girl has had many good changes, when I got a big hug from her mother when I took the girl back to her at the midnight after our travel, heard her happy comments on her daughter’s change, I did feel that it was worth to sacrifice my own time and came back from Taishan Mountain earlier than my plan.

-- Except buying 5 boxes of the water and drink for my 32 classmates at the beginning of the travel, also, I helped
11 classmates to come back our campus via connecting my taxi driver, to organize 3 taxis to pick up us in the Beijing Train Station. Can you imagine? For picking up us, they had travelled round trip for more than 2 hours and drove us back home in the midnight. Then I spent much time to help another girl classmate who was sick seriously after the travel, to cook for her, to accompany her to go outside...

The pities in the travel is that I did not really touch Taishan Mountains and its culture yet; I have also not found a suitable time to have a good communication with our tutors, too.

How about you? Do you have anything special in your life?

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
April 17, 2011