Artist Ma Jianguo. Photo provided to China Daily

Ma started practicing Chinese painting with an ink and brush every day after work. He studied others' works at different exhibitions and spoke with various artists about their understanding of painting.

"Confucius said 2,000 years ago that you could find one teacher if you were walking with two men. I believe that everyone could be my teacher as each person has his or her strong points," says Ma, whose focus on painting the Taihang Mountains was inspired by works of another Hebei painter, Chai Zongjie, on the same theme.

Later, Ma joined Xinhua News Agency and worked in more than 10 countries across Europe and Africa. He also took time to visit the museums and galleries of different nations, such as the Louvre in Paris and Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

"Ma's freehand brushwork is vigorous and impressive and his works catch people's hearts by representing the grand feeling of the mountains in the north," says Liu Dawei, chairman of the China Artists' Association.

"What's more valuable in his works is that Ma paints without the shackles of the rules taught in arts schools thanks to his inter-disciplinary background."

Ma loves the strength and might of the mountains, and believes that the soul of nature, if depicted successfully, will ignite different responses in viewers.