I drew during my travels. I drew almost solely from nature, attesting my sketches by the signature of the presented person and by a sign from an exotic alphabet. The wish of the viewer expecting a true likeness to people or landscapes played a great role.

The first drawings of this kind were made during and after the Second World War. I drew the Belarusian landscape and war refugees. In 1945, using a drawing pen I made a series of drawings on ruined Gdansk and Malbork. Later, in the early 1950’s, I made some sketches of the Mazurian Lake District, and also of China in 1954.

Almost 200 drawings made in China are an important part of my artistic education. The great in influence of this old culture, signs and hieroglyphs, classical techniques, the quality of paper, ink and brushes and the sophisticated cuisine, as well as direct contacts with outstanding artists, such as the unforgettable Qi Baishi, have had a great effect to bear on my style.

Traveling a lot, I drew much. At the cost of comfort and recreation I recorded the war years in Vietnam, the glaciers of the Himalayas, the summits of the Altai Mountains, the wild steppes of Mongolia, the taiga on the Amur River, the hunters of Sichote Alin, Sicilian farmers, the Yangtze River, Corbusier’s Chandigarh, Syrian market-places, Khajuraho temples and many other things. 

Andrzej Strumiłło, The catalog, Zachęta, Warszawa, 1976 r.