The journey travelling to the peaks of the mountain is a most rewarding experience, as it allows one to observe the full breadth of the sky and valley below. Samjis emphasised the spatial depth of the landscape by gently articulating the undulating shapes of the hills and terrain viewed from a distance, enveloped by the cooling mists of the morning. It is a poetic impression of the region, along with the naturalistic treatment of landscape. Samjis Mat Jan differs from his APS predecessors like Dato' Hoessein Enas and Mazli Mat Som in the way he chooses and treats his subjects, while he still paints portraits of Malay women, mostly primly dressed. While Dato' Hoessein and Mazli preferred landscapes, Samjis turns his brushes to urban life, focusing on restless Malay youths in jeans ‘lepak-ing' (loitering), which he started in the 1980s in iconic works such as Rendezvous (1984) and Missing Link. He is also sought-after for portraits, and has done portraits of Dr. Mahathir Mohamed (Tun), Musa Hitam (Tun), the 1st Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the 8th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Iskandar Ismail and Raja Permaisuri Agong Sultanah Zanariah, the royal families of Selangor, Kedah and Perlis. He has also done socio-historical works like Merdeka Declaration Of Independence. Samjis studied at the Mara Institute of Technology, failing in Architecture (School of Building) but with a diploma in Fine Art (1981). He had his primary education in Malacca and secondary education in Terengganu.