In the fall of 1979, Shiy De-jiin created his watercolor painting, “Autumn”, on a trip to Qingshui and Shalu of Central Taiwan with a good friend. This piece combines Shiy De-jiin’s unique modern techniques with the unique characteristics of watercolor paintings creating a beautiful work, rich in expression and color. The mountains afar are washed in wet ink, revealing a deep sense of artistic conception. At the foot of the mountain stands Shiy’s favorite historic house, showing a quiet and contented rural landscape. The foreground is a stretch of an autumn forest. The orderly trees, the stones and the water are the garnish of this poetic and gorgeous modern landscape painting.

Shiy believed one should learn from the painters in the Five Dynasties and the Song Period, creating paintings by confronting real landscape. He said: “Only by seeing nature in a whole new way and experiencing life from the eyes and the heart can one create a new Chinese painting style.” In his later years, he immersed himself into nature, studying Chinese calligraphy, painting, folk art and traditional architecture. Although Shiy had a passion for the tropical, natural beauty of Taiwan, he never forgot that he came from Sichuan. He observed “Taiwan’s landscape” through Chinese eyes. Besides his passion and truthfulness, his paintings also carry a kind of refined comprehension of life.