Hi,Dear Friends

How are you?

Since I wrote to you last time, 47 days have past. From April 13 to May 30, I had used almost all my time on English study and then I took part in a national English examination for getting my second master degree in Beijing Normal University on May 31.

Though I was quite tired and felt headache seriously after a long distance travel and the tight exam. With a quite delight heart, in the later afternoon on the same day, I came back to my classroom in Chinese National Academy of Arts and started a new painting which is my 350th assignment at CNAA and the works to exchange the fee for taking part in the graduated exhibition and publishing an annul art book of our Post-graduated Student Program on Chinese Painting Creating of CNAA.

For all I had to work rely on painkillers for about 3 days, it was full of happiness at my heart for I could finally paint once more. Both of you and I cannot imagine that I had dreamed of painting 4 times before I came back school so that sometimes I did feel pain when I had to remember English words/ grammars or I had to write a business plan /letter at my usual painting time.

Then I nearly completed it on June 1 and two my tutors Mr. Lu Wenqing and Mr. Wu Tong gave me some very good comments. And Mr. Wu Tong directed me how to mix my colors on my bamboo on the paintings. Mr. Lu Wenqing directed my how to do a daily practice on it. Then on June 2 (today), Professor Man Weiqi - the Deputy Dean of Chinese School at Chinese National Academy of Arts came to check our assignments. And he gave each student some detail directions face to face.

The good and bad news is:

-- I had booked my tickets to go to the USA as soon as my study in Beijing is finished and I had planned to come back China before Christmas.

-- After running for 9 years, our current Post-graduated Program on Chinese Painting of Chinese National Academy of Arts, which I have studied on it for 4 years, will be stopped since July, 2015.

-- A new Chinese Academy of Ink and Wash Painting has been found by a group of famous Chinese artists. All of them are the professors who have the qualifications to direct master students and most of them have taught me face to face in Beijing. They will not only continue the general art education jobs which is on the post graduated student class level as we have gotten in the past 9 years, but also, aim at taking parting Chinese National Exhibitions and getting awards, they will found an elite students' class to train some excellent students who were the graduates in the past 9 years.

According to my mind, I should work in the USA in the upcoming few months; according to my heart, I should shorten my travel in the USA and come back Beijing after the art exhibition in MO is finished and continue my art study even though I will have to change my tickets.

I have not made the final decision yet but I have registered and applied to be one of the first group of the students of Chinese Academy of Ink and Wash Painting. After all, I had painted in my dreams 4 times when I had to stop to paint temporarily and to work on the other jobs. After all, my project is based on Chinese Painting and the latter is the carrier of the other elements of the project.

So, now, my instinct tells me that I should continue the art study in Beijing for another 1 to 3 years and become an excellent artist with a degree of Master of Fine Arts at the first, during the time, to arrange my international travels in my summer or winter vacations. Then my little cross-culture and comprehensive art project will be able to work and to push forward on a higher flat roof and level.

How do you think of my thoughts? Do you agree with me? If you were me, what would you choose?

How about you? Do you have anything special to show?

Shirley's Art Works 970 & Chinese Xieyi 520-Shirley's 350th Assignment at Chinese National Academy of Arts-June 1, 2015

Sincerely,

Shirley Yiping Zhang
June 02, 2015 (Beijing Time)