As an artistic expression, sketching is an important means for artists to create and collect various image materials. However, with the development of photography technology, especially the popularization of mobile photography, sketching seems to be no longer valued by contemporary painters. How is the state of sketching in art today? From August 14-17, the "New Era, New Life" National Sketching Invitational Exhibition and the 4thGuangzhou Sketched Works Exhibition, under co-organization of China Art Newspaper, Publicity Department of Guangzhou Municipal Party Committee and Guangzhou City Federation of Literature and Art, academic guidance from China Artists Association, support from Guangdong Arts Association and Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, has been committed to finding the right solution.

　　"The exhibition held at the Exhibition Hall of the Chinese Literary Artists has received positive response from the majority of artists and support from all walks of life. It has received more than 10,000 sketches from over 1,800 painters at home and abroad. After the review, more than 230 contemporary sketches have been displayed in the exhibition, including the forms of oil painting, gouache, ink, pen, pencil, charcoal, knife and others, indicating that the development of sketch itself is moving towards multiple paths."Said ZHU Hongzi, Vice president of China Art Newspaper.

　　In the preparation of the exhibition, the organizing committee has organized the painters to involve in the revolutionary old district, high-tech enterprises, communities and other grassroots layers to sketch composition depicting the new era, new Guangzhou and new life. The works of this exhibition include famous masterpieces, works by painters from all over the world, and others by some young painters. The content of these works is closely related to the times, and the diverse art forms present the wonderful life. The seemingly easy and casual sketches contain a profound and thorough grasp of the object and the artistic orientation of the author's personality; some works are a success in itself, which could express the inner feelings of the author directly and honestly. This exhibition, with multiple meanings, is not only a supplement and enrichment for the national art exhibitions, but also reflects the level of contemporary Chinese sketches to a certain extent, providing an artistic position for artists to adhere to and explore the original hearts and dreams, and academic exchanges.

　　During the exhibition, XU Li, vice chairman and secretarygeneral of the China Artists Association specially watched the exhibition and gave high praise. He said: "Sketching is the most intuitive reflection of the artists' endeavor to involve in life. It is the most convenient way to observe and express life. The exhibition clarifies the deepest relationship between sketches and complete works, and allows us to reassess the artistic value of sketching and its positioning in the creation of new era art."

　　KANG Wei, editor-in-chief of the China Art Newspaper, believes that sketching is a vivid and profound expression of the artistic style of "rooting the people and taking root in life". He said that sketching, exuding emotional temperature, is filled with the heat of life, condensing the intensity of thought, showing the strength of art and carrying out beautiful discovery and creation in the life accumulation. Pieces of sketching works from different parts of the country in diverse historical periods reflect the passion for life and the persistence of art, allowing the audience to feel the original heart of the artists and the outstanding artistic creation.

　　Sketching is an extremely direct and lively creation method for artists to face life. The promotion of sketching is not only the emphasis on the basic skills of painting, but also the sincere pursuit of art. The "New Era·New Life" National Sketching Invitational Exhibition and the 4th Guangzhou Sketched Works Exhibition promote the responsibility and obligation of the artists for the times and life by sketching, and discover the beauty of life, the truth of reality and the goodness of the people.

　　ZHU Xiaoyi, deputy-director of the Publicity Department of the Guangzhou Municipal Party Committee, believes that Guangzhou, as the pioneer of China's reform and opening up, has held a series of important activities celebrating the spirit of the great moves this year. "New Era · New Life" is one of them, the literary form, the sketching can be most closely and directly combined with our life. I hope that, through this exhibition, more artists will focus on sketching and pay attention to current life.

　　At the academic seminar held at the sideline of the exhibition, WANG Yong, LI Yi, LIANG Jiang, ZHENG Gong and other experts held the opinions that sketching is one of the main basic skills of the painter to showcase spirituality, talent and skills.

　　The artist's experience of real objects and the ability to transform artistic expressions can be revealed in sketches thoroughly. SUN Ge, vice-chairman of the Guangzhou Artists Association and the exhibition judge, said that our generation has unique feelings about sketching. From the day of painting, we started from sketching. Now we often talk about we shouldn't forget our original heart. Sketching is our initial heart. "I always think that sketching is a lifelong pursuit, the charm is that it moves forward forever, and the process itself is most happy." His words have been widely recognized by the participating experts. Experts such as SHI Guoliang，DING Ning, ZHANG Jing, LIU Gang, YI E and ZHANG Ruitian said that our advocating the sketching not only lies in teaching technical means, but more importantly, to promote how to maintain the original care of life, the artistic feeling and expression ability in facing the targeted objects, this is a spiritual inheritance.

　　A participating painter, LIU Xiaoyuan said that sketching is a short-and-fast art, closest to the people and full of everyday energy, especially in Guangzhou, it has promoted the new face of the Lingnan School of Painting, which is oriented towards life and focusing on painting, in the early days of reform and opening up, forming a brand-new wave of art in the artistic history of China, He hoped that the sketching of Guangzhou could become a new topic in contemporary art creation and research. Other experts as WANG Yong, SUN Ge, LIAO Zongyi, WANG Xiaoshu, JIN Cheng and etc. believe that sketching is a reflection of a painter's cultivation, talent and skill. For now, it is to maintain a fresh sense of objects, a keen expression of what you see and use your own painting language to express your feelings.