Shi Ga Sen Syu, 68, never dreamt of becoming a great painter. Nor does he make big money by painting.

He enjoys immersing himself into creating glass paintings, when he feels a part of the nature.

He wants his works to be cherished by people, not an expensive ornament.

At his one-man show which ended yesterday in Beijing, he displayed 59 of his latest works on glass with Buddhas, flowers, birds and ancient beauties. He will continue his regular show at the Huaxia Calligraphy and Painting Store in Liulichang, a street famous for its antique artifacts in downtown Beijing.

Some 45 years ago, Shi Ga Sen Syu quit his job as a professional baseball player in Toyama Ken, Japan, and wondered what he was truly interested in. Then an exhibition of Chinese clay paintings inspired his passion.

Yet he had never received any vocational training because of poverty.

He taught himself drawing skills, and made a living by sketching passers-by on the street.

He gradually realized that it was impossible for an amateur like him to excel out of harsh competitions. He tried to stand out through an entirely new way of painting, to put brush to glass. No one had done that before in Japan.

With the help of friends who taught chemistry in the university, Shi Ga Sen Syu compounded a pigment specially for the glass painting.

He extracted colouring matters from all sorts of plants, and mixed them with mineral powders and other organic solvents, so the pigment would neither accumulate on the glass nor fall off after it dried.

Meanwhile he travelled around Japan to do life sketches, and produced several brushworks of ancient beauties, flowers and birds.

He visited almost all the temples in Japan and learned to portray different Buddhist sculptures on glass.

"My great grandfather was the abbot of a temple in Toyama, the last one in our family," he said. "I grew up in a family of Buddhism, where I cultivated my fondness of the Buddhist figure ever since the childhood."

His brushwork on glass turned out to be warmly received.

Shi Ga Sen Syu appeared in the annals of Japanese artists of 1974, which signaled his formal acknowledgement by Japan's domestic art circle.

He was also nominated for the "Intangible cultural relics of Japan" in 1982, one of the highest awards for artists.

Shi Ga Sen Syu leads a free yet unstable life, more so in his early years. He would set out to discover a good place for life portraits.

Before his glass wonders stunned his counterparts in Japan, they had already fascinated Europeans on his earliest trip abroad.

In 1969 he spent all his money on a plane ticket to Copenhagen, Denmark, just because he wanted to see the famous sculpture of the little mermaid, a character in a Hans Christian Andersen (1805-75) fairy tale.

He attempted to sell his glass brushworks and collect enough money for a ticket home. His five paintings unexpectedly caught the attention of art lovers and the media and his works were ultimately treasured at the National Art Museum of Denmark.

The adventure in Copenhagen started his exchanges with European artists and later led to eight individual exhibitions across the continent.

"Painting is the power of my life," he said.

But his unrestrained life-style ended his first marriage.

"When the family affairs clashed with my pursuit of art, I undoubtedly chose the later," he admitted.

Shi Ga Sen Syu looks more like a Buddhist monk when he paints. He normally sits in the meditation first for a while.

"I dismiss all distracting thoughts out of my mind. If I plan to draw a tree, I imagine myself as the fierce wind, which howls and dashes against the tree and its branches. Then I change into a breeze which softly kisses its blossoms and leaves," he said.

He believes a beforehand communication with the Buddha is essential to painting the Buddhist sculptures.

"How can I produce a satisfactory painting of the Buddha," he said, "if I have no idea about how the Buddha perceives the human world and the universe?"

His preparations include reading through abundant materials about Buddha, and matching various Buddhist figures with corresponding decorations and hand gestures.

"I was brought up along with the Buddhist doctrine which is deeply rooted in my heart - Be honest to people, be restrictive with your work, and be simple in your living. That is my life philosophy, and my guidance to art," he said.

Shi Ga Sen Syu is actually creating a pure world, free of wars and devils, but filled with love, thankfulness and benevolence.

He has brought his glass brushwork, together with his understanding of Buddhism, to China since 1993. Buddhism has enormous cultural influence on people of both nations.

He also recognizes his brushwork as an apologetic message.

"Japan launched an invasive war towards China during 1937-45. The tragedy claimed millions of Chinese people's lives," he said. "As an ordinary Japanese citizen, I bring self-examination and confession, for what the Chinese once suffered.

"The Buddha stands for peace and happiness. Through my Buddhist paintings, I communicate my sincere prayer for an enduring friendship between peoples from the two countries," he added.

There is another reason for his frequent journeys to China - the Buddhist figures in China's monasteries.

Buddhism spread to Japan from China in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). He cares about how Buddhism develops in China, and how the Buddhist philosophy is perceived.

He has visited many ancient temples, and exchanged with Chinese Buddhist monks on both Buddhism and the Buddhist sculptures.

Chinese paintings of the Buddha on the other hand deepen his understanding of the art.

"Artists in Japan adopt a light yet elegant flavour in their brushworks. While Chinese painters prefer bold and bright colours," he said.

Shi Ga Sen Syu introduces Chinese treatment of portraying the Buddha into his new glass brushworks.

He has also collected many books about the costume of the 56 ethnic groups in China.

The artist intends to set foot in every corner of China over the rest of his life.

He is determined to paint 56 Chinese women of distinct ethnic groups, and sketch a Buddha in golden threads on each piece of these glass brushworks.

Shi Ga Sen Syu recognizes China as his other hometown.

"Not only because it is the native country of my present wife. I love this nation and its diverse culture. I wish to create as many glass paintings of China as I can," he said.

Editor: Catherine