Ancient traditions still alive in artist's work

Jia is a student of the traditional painting techniques as well. He uses a technique called gaogu yousi miao when he depicts the lines.

The lines drawn using this technique are "full of strength and sharpness", embodying the typical qualities of Chinese painting, Da Chongguang (1623-1692), a renowned painter of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) once wrote.

Innovation is based on traditions and learning traditional technique requires a lot of practice and a sincere heart, Jia said.

Traditional styles have seen a revival in popularity in recent years owing to their timeless beauty.

But defining them and presenting them in front of audiences is not easy, Jia said.

What Jia tries to do is to combine the tradition with modern elements and create a distinct personal style.

Jia's hard work has won him a lot of honors for the past 20 years.

He received a dozen awards from national exhibitions and contests, which include National Artwork Exhibition and China Modern Artwork Exhibition.

In addition, Jia's paintings have been exhibited in the China Art Festival and some of them have been added to the collections of the Chinese government.

Biography

Jia Guangjian was born in January 1964. He graduated from Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in 1994. He has served as a professor in China National Academy of Painting, Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, China Central Academy of Fine Arts, and People's Liberation Army Academy of Art. He also serves as a teacher in his own studio, the Jia Guangjian Bird and Flower Painting Studio. Jia is a member of the China Artists Association and a member of the council of the Chinese Painting Institute, China Hue Art Society, Beijing Hue Art Society, as well as Tianjin Artists Association. He is listed as one of the "China's Top 100 Young Artists" by China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.