Tinyan was later admitted to the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, where he gained access to large numbers of Chinese wood cut prints, colourful Chinese engravings, folk festival theme paintings, Chinese omen paintings, and wood carving. He began to realize the joy of creating bold compositions and expressions. This had a major influence on his future work. From 1960 to 1962, Tinyan Chan spent many after school hours at both banks of the Pearl River, making sketches of the river scene as well as the daily hustle and bustle of the villagers’ life. He soon earned the respect of his professors and fellow students. His works were often selected to be displayed in the academy bulletins.

In 1968, Tinyan immigrated to Canada and started his career as a professional artist. This was a major turning point in his life. With his experience in China and France, which embraced both ancient and modern Impressionist abstract and contemporary works of arts, he became confident in creating his own style of art work. He set up studios in Canada. He would then venture out to explore the beauty of the four seasons related to spring flowers, summer landscapes, autumn leaves and winter snows. His work encompassed the wide range of Eastern and Western themes of the Fisherman’s Wharves, and was well received by other artists and collectors. In the following years, his techniques shifted to a bold choice of themes. He experimented with new colours and the use of different tools, such as acrylic, to draw freehand sketches. This bold achievement gave him a great sense of satisfaction in his painting.