For Jianpeng, 2014 was a year for changes and a fresh start, because it was the year in which he was not credulous anymore and stepped through a new phase of reflecting on his own creation.

　　During October 2015, Jianpeng started feeling tired of creating freehand paintings that had lasted nearly a year and a half. He decided to create a series of large and serious works and host an exhibition for his PhD graduation. Tiashan Painting Album was produced under such background.

　　The original drafts of Tianshan Painting Album are from Jianpeng's sketches of Xinjiang. Especially during the Spring Festival of 2014, he spent twenty days sketching in Beijiang and had hundreds of sketches that needed to be turned into paintings. The paintings are colour on silk fabric and their size is about 66 centimetres. The reason he chose silk fabric is because among different kinds of materials, silk is the best surface suitable for traditional Blue-Green Landscape painting.

　　Once the plan was made, Jianpeng stayed secluded for nearly three months. There was a solid daily routine: he woke at 7am, sketching, colouring, or practicing calligraphy until he felt a bit tired, and then had breakfast, did some exercises and started to create works again. He nearly worked the whole day through. Normally, he took a short break in the middle of the day to drink tea, play Guqin, feed pet birds or water his favourite potted flowers, and went to bed about 10pm.

　　Massive workload is a huge challenge to people's body and spirit. Fortunately, a regular life and his passion for Chinese painting ensured everything was done in order. About fortnight later, Jianpeng strongly felt the benefits of the reflection. Without anyone's approval, he knew he had done a very meaningful thing; its importance is not less than his departure from Zhejiang to Xinjiang in 2007. In 2007, he was trying to change a painting concept; in 2014, he made his heroic and magnificent dream come true. Although his brushworks are characterised by warmth and elegance of Zhejiang people, the simple ink and colour on the silk vividly depict and recreate the grandiose landscape of Xinjiang. In seven years, he left his comfort-zone to record, appreciate and get inspired by the mountains and rivers of Xinjiang. He drew them in a room; more specifically drew the landscape of his heart. He is really satisfied.

Qiu Chunxia

Researcher of Beijing Fine Art Academy