Lin Jian was born in Fujian, located in the Southeastern part of China. he began to paint when he was only four years old. Though he has not had any formal art education, he has been lucky enough to receive instruction from a professor at the Fujian Art College. He lives in Fujian with his wife and daughter.

In 1996 Lin travelled throughout the US and took many photographs of the places he would like to paint. He enjoys painting in large sizes but will be focusing on smaller paintings in the future.