Trips to the Caucasus in 1901-1903 were a true revelation for Saryan. In the summer of 1902, Saryan visited Ani, the old capital of Armenia. 'In the picturesque nooks of the south of our ancient country, I found again the magic world of my childhood', recalls the artist (“Martiros Saryan”, p.58).Influenced by the southern sun and optical color effects created by its rays, the palette and the imaginary system of Saryan's first individual works changed. 'The hardest time in my life was the time of initial seeking… I wasn't satisfied with beaten tracks… I decided to follow my own aspirations…', the artist recalled. 'All what I painted from 1904 was a combination of the real and the imaginary - the real insofar as I painted it being guided by my impressions of what I saw, and the fantasy insofar I was synthesizing it in my imagination' (“Martiros Saryan. From My Life”, p.78). Thus, in 1904-1907 Saryan created the watercolor series 'Fairy Tales and Dreams'. The simplified figures of people and animals depicted by the painter are easily recognized. However, the overall mood created by their interaction is so unusual that carries the viewer away to the world of feelings energizing his imagination with mysterious power. Subconsciously a viewer experiences a marvelous harmony of nature.

Some pieces of this series were displayed in 1907 at the Blue Rose exposition in Moscow that was the first exposition of Russian painters-symbolists.

Starting from 1908, Saryan completely replaced watercolor with tempera. Works like ‘By the Well. Hot Day’, ‘By the Sea. Sphinx’ reveals the evolution of the color palette of the artist. The clear and bright colors are laid out on the cardboard by long, distinct touches creating sparkling plays of color hues filled with sunlight. Also, it is necessary to point out the early experiments of Saryan in tempera techniques. In 1905, the artist created ‘Charm of the Sun’. Here he creates a simple plot with harmonious combination of synthetic color and shape, sparkling in the light of the strong southern sun. The sonorous color decision in this composition precedes Saryan’s acquaintance with the work of Matisse, the founder of French fauvism. The first exhibitions of French artists from the late 19th to early 20th century from S.Shchukin's and I.Morozov's collections were opened in Moscow in 1906. Saryan wrote about his first impressions of new principles of European painting in his letters dated by 1908: 'Gauguin is amazing with his new religion that revealed the innermost spiritual world of barbarians to the Europeans. Cezanne is unparalleled, firm, and earnest in his strong and brilliant paintings. Van Gogh is so interesting: a restless and ailing seeker'. (“Martiros Saryan. Letters”, p.72). At the same time, Saryan confessed that acquaintance with the French painting inspired and convinced him even more of the righteousness of his own style and his attitude to painting.

Many Russian artists of the time were influenced by the new French school. However, no one utilized expressiveness that Saryan possessed arising from large planes of pure colors providing the generalized characteristic of visually perceived forms and motions. The style of the Armenian medieval miniature was close to Saryan. It is unique by the synthesis of contrasting colors and simple rhythmic lines. The decorative simplicity and symbolic forms, which express spontaneity of national thinking, were creatively elaborated by Saryan.

In 1909, fantastic dreams in Saryan's works were replaced by more real and vital observations of the nature and the world around. The elaboration of the technique, plot motives and overall system of artistic characters, developed in the subsequent period, are typical for the paintings ‘Self-portrait’, ‘A Running Dog’, ‘Hyenas’ . A bright and sonorous palette enchant with laconic brevity and accuracy of the image.

During this period Saryan takes an active part in the exhibitions organized by the magazine Zolotoye Runo (Golden Fleece).