How are you? Have you started a wonderful new week? I do hope you have.

Since I wrote to you last Wednesday until last Sunday, besides attending the lessons by Professor Li Yang (he is in the photos on this page)-- Associate Dean of Chinese Painting College at China Central Academy of Fine Arts, a Researcher of Chinese National Academy of Arts, and one of the professors who taught me face to face in CAFA in 2010, I painted 7 small paintings for the school.

Wednesday morning, April 16, Mr. Lu Wenqing - tutor of flower and bird painting of us walked in the classtoom with an album of paintings and painted it there, I was not surprised at all. However, when Mr.Wu Tong - Associate Head of the Teaching Department of Chinese Painting College at Chinese National Academy of Arts and tutor of figure painting went into the classroom and said to me: " Professor Man Weiqi - Executive Associate Dean of Chinese Painting College at CNAA asked you to paint several paintings for the albums of paintings as well." " Really? " I could not believe my ears, so that I asked him twice. Anyway, that was true.

Then, together with the other 15 or 16 graduates of the previous class years and students 2013 class year, by the good directions and lead of Mr. Wu Tong, we worked on the jobs until Sunday night, April 20, 2014. Made 20 albums of paintings.

In my heart, there is so much honor and appreciation not only for I have gotten a so good opportunity to work with the most excellent students and our tutors together; but also for I have felt the best encouragement from my Chinese Alma Mater and the most direct help and support to my cross-culture and comprehensive art dream and project; meanwhile, during the process, I have seen my own weak points and found my own effort direction...

-- I do realize once more: I have found the best and the most suitable place to study Chinese arts. Here, in Chinese National Academy of Arts, there is no any discrimination, no matter where we are from and what level we are at, as long as we truly want to learn and work hard, we would be offered opportunities.

I remember clear, that was September, 2012, I was in the team to attend the lesson of painting from the nature in the Wuyi Mountains, Fujian Province. We would do the same thing in the scene facing the hosts. According to my limited experience in the art circle, this kind of jobs would be done by those most excellent students -- those orginal professional artists. So, I went out of the hotel and did not want to make the tutors and myself embarrassed.

Then, unexpectedly, I got a phone call from Mr. Wu Tong, he asked me to come back the hotel to paint. When I went into the meeting room, I found that all of the 40 or more students had been listed into different groups, my name was among some graduates of previous year. Then, I had the first opportunity and experience to paint with the other professional artists together in the publishing occasions. :- )

Then, by the good directions of Professor Man Weiqi, Mr. Wu Tong and Mr. Lu Wenqing face to face, I painted 1 picture in the first evening, 2 pictures in the second night; and then in the last night, I painted 4 pictures...

-- I was lucky enough to get the most directly help and support from my school in China. Since my cross-cultural and comprehensive art project and dream is based on the Chinese paintings, so, in my opinion, to help me to improve my Chinese painting level, is just help my project.

-- During the short painting time, once more, I saw my own weak points. No matter my painting speed, amount, size, creative ability, there is so big distance from my classmates. In the other words, within the 4 years in Beijing, I have made up many missed courses and holes in the undergraduate and postgraduate phases as an art student in the my knowledge structure. I am just go by the gate of the palace of Chinese arts.

In Chinese art field, I am still a little student, there are really too many things that I have to learn and to study. So, I am thinking, if my schedule can be arranged and my health can support, I am going to continue to study in Chinese National Academy of Arts in Beijing in 2014 class year.

-- The biggest problem and the worst: my health and physical strength is blocking me to go forward, I have missed the 8 of the 9 lessons of painting from the nature that I should attend in the mountains or by the rivers.

Can you imagine? Tomorrow, in the team to go to Taihang Mountains, there will be Mrs. Gao Huiming - Executive Vice President of Chinese National Academy of Arts, Professor Xu Jun - Associate Dean of Graduated School at CNAA, Prof. Man Weiqi -- Executive Associate Dean of Chinese Painting College at CNAA. I had registered to go, then I retreated for my poor healthy situation.

So, at the same time I feel so much pity, it also gives me a good motivation to improve my health.

Now, I have started to cook for myself, try to walk 4 times between the school and my home each day for 1 hour, sleep and get up earlier than usual... I am trying every method to overcome the illnesses and to recover my original very healthy situation.

The good news:

-- The frequency of my stomachache has reduced since I cooked for myself.

-- 2014 Beijing Peony Exhibition was opened April 16. A taxi driver lives in the same building will drive me there at 7:30 a.m. each morning. So, now I am smiling for compare with the mountains, I more enjoy painting flowers. So, even though I miss the opportunity to paint in Taihang Mountains with my classmates and professors together, God gives me another opportunity to paint something I more enjoy. :-)

So, I am going to start off at 7:00a.m. tomorrow morning. Before my classmates aboard their train at about 8:00 a.m.? :-)

-- You cannot imagine what I got from the school before I send this letter to you? 2000 RMB, about 330 USD. Mr. Wu Tong told me that was the payment of my paintings I did for the school and also it will be my taxi expenses to paint in the Jingshan Park in Beijing. :-)

Wow! Who can be so lucky as me? A common Chinese art student? With so much gratitude, hold the first payment I have gotten from my own paintings in my hands ( I did not touch any coin of the payment that I had gotten in my art exhibitions in the U.S.A. Sep, 2009 and May, 2013, but donated it before I left for China), I am going to cherish my luck; remember what the school did for me; to do my best to learn as much as possible in my motherland, to create something more beautiful, to return my tutors, professors, and my Alma Mater with the actual jobs to help non-Chinese Speakers and anyone who is interested in Chinese culture, arts and language in the other side of the Ocean...

How about you? Do you have anything to share?Sincerely,


Shirley Yiping Zhang
April 22, 2014 (Beijing Time)