Chinese artist uses roller skates to create traditional Chinese paintings

A Chinese artist who uses roller skates to create traditional Chinese landscape paintings says she wants to reinvigorate traditional Chinese art for the next generation, Chinese newspaper Chengdu Economic Daily reported on Jan 7.

Tian Haisu, born in 1988 in southwestern China's Chengdu, Sichuan province, is an alumnus of San Francisco Art Institute and California College of the Arts. Born into a family with a strong art tradition, Tian started learning Chinese landscape painting as a toddler.

Her studies in the United States endowed her with more open and inclusive art ideas, and she decided to combine traditional Chinese art with her favorite sport: roller skating.

Much of Tian's work features mountains and rivers. She said the landscape of Sichuan was the most unforgettable thing during her stay in the US, and she remains attached to her Chinese tradition despite all the pleasure and change of modern Western art.

Tian fixed a pot of black paint to her skates - a technique which she says makes her feel "at one with her art".

In 2015, her work was exhibited at California College of the Arts and attracted huge attention. President Stephen Beal of the college said he was proud of Tian.

But behind the glory is the hard work. "I feel everything is changing and I can't stick to my original plans," said Tian, adding that the process of creating the paintings has always cost her in terms of appetite and sleep.

However, art creation is both painful and pleasant, she added.