——Read Li Zhao-yu works of Chinese traditional painting
An Yu-ren / Text
Li Zhao-yu is a Chinese traditional painting, precious little time and never idle one day.
Read his ink painting works, caught my eyes, his works is from tradition, but not fall down in outmoded, overflows with gentle and refined everywhere. His works with diversity subject, and his art road is very wide, involved in oil painting, lacquer painting, watercolor, etc., 《Dream of Minbei》、《Ink painting Jiangnan》、《Hometown’s topographical advantages》 etc., “Put everything in mind”, style of painting overflows with gentle and fresh, very impressive. Especially for depicted all mountains and rivers around his hometown Dayun mountain, make us moved, The ancients said:”Many thoughts in the heart, form and content is consistent, and with the true feelings, can be express ideas clearly and agilely.”The “honest” and “diligent” refer to emotional artistic conception. So he could painting all things by heart. In addition, his works 《Boudoir series》 are very interesting, with the flavor of “New literati painting”. He rebelled against the traditional literati paintings image of fresh and elegant, created series of the contemporary new female image. Female characters stick out in the pictures, we can feel his speed, reflects the modern female unique mentality and appearance, it is typical female graffiti with realistic significance. In a nutshell, Zhao-yu has his own painting style obviously.
One
All things of the world have their reason and trajectory. Painting is the same, It has “Physical” and “Theory of painting” two aspects. So-called physical, refers to the inherent regularity and reasonable, so-called “Theory of painting” is the principle and method of painting. Zhao-yu can explored intensively in these two aspects. Landscape painting depicting object is natural mountains and rivers and cloud and trees, stream and waterfall, countryside and farmhouses, birds and animals, etc., these things are naturally “physical” nature, and common sense. As a landscape painter, can’t ignore these respects. His hometown sceneries are his creation themes and spiritual sustenance, in order to depict his native home better, he has been go deep into there, absorb and choice, inspiration. Pan Tian-shou said:”No inspiration, no creation, no skills, no painting, so, inspiration is the soul of painting, technique is the parents of painting.” How wonderful is his said! For everything of his hometown, he is very familiar, he observed carefully to collect material, these life-size pictures, it is the best proof of “never idle one day”. From his works 《Minbei autumn》、《Spring》、《Winter》、《Silent valley village》, I read details and vivid description of “Physics”, and read about his deep understanding and flexible use for “Theory of painting”. No wonder his landscape is vivid and reasonable. Carefully taste, as if in the fields and farmhouses of Daiyun mountain, very beautiful and fresh, full of poetic.
Li Zhao-yu 《Silent valley village》
Two
Painting belongs to the visual plastic art, through the model to describe objects, through “Theory of painting” to explain “Physical”, in terms of shape, both can be made “tangible” type, also can be mode “intangible” type, the former is reproduce, a representation of objective image, the latter is performance, emphasize the spirit of artist’s subjective feeling. “Outside the creature, the heart source”, “Outside the creature” is learning from true mountains and true water, the sketch is one of the best means of creation, Qing dynasty Shi tao, search special mountains for draft, in modern times Huang binhong, he traveled around famous mountains and great rivers, sketch crafts above tens of thousands, when he understood and mastered the creations, landscape painting is not sketching directly, but for the painter’s subjective initiative, combing the subjective mood, and according to need to be “natural”, rather than painting face scenery mechanically. The sketch should be the creation of painter heart, and the nature of ideal. The painter use paintbrush and ink, visualize the image of heart, and depicted on plain silk. This is called “the heart source”. Zhao yu’s work just like that, it looks like simple, actually otherwise, it requires the painter knowledge accomplishment, and many other kung fu out of painting, promote the degree of depth of the picture artistic expression. From “Outside the creature” to “the heart source”, it is a long process of creation and refining and sublimation. So Huang Bin-hong said:”no creation in painting, why do painting? like and not like the object, this is true painting.” Means, like object very much or not like, just as good picture. Because extremely alike, might damage of “meaning”, unlike, might lose form. So the wonderful point is “between alike and unlike”, “extremely alike is vulgar, unlike is fool the world”, ”Handle appropriately, depends on artist’s effort and accomplishment. This is an important feature of Chinese traditional painting. asked artist must insight into life, known physical property, proficient in method, and organic combination of two, can painting with ease. Zhao Yu created but not copied, ancient but not old, its spirit likeness, not form likeness. Through a lot of painting experience, to obtain the true feelings for true mountains and rivers, to grasp effectively for the structure and flavor. This is the reason of Zhao Yu painting.
Three
Paintbrush and ink belongs to the category of Chinese traditional painting techniques, it is the prerequisite, belong to the basic skill, which is the basic language of painting, master can be express physical interest and painter mentality better. Ink use although has difference, but once abandoned, Chinese painting will be impossible. For this problem, I have long conversation with Zhao Yu, he think that, in the painting, no ink no brush, brush and ink express with each other, can be prosperous and filled with feelings. Of course, in the practice of painting, someone pay attention to brush, someone pay attention to ink, vary from person to person. Qing dynasty Da Chong-guang pointed out:”Brush as ink’s bones and muscles, ink as brush’s elite”, “who can use brush and ink well is skillful and capable”. Huang Bin-hong said:”Theory of brushwork, with ink, ink presentation, all out of the brush.” “Visible is brush is ink, ink is brush, brush and ink are unity, so-called “lively”, ink color, all out of excellent use of brush and ink. Through conversation, I learned his agile mind and rich knowledge. Read his works 《Love songs of autumn》、《Mountain area green color》、《Cold autumn》 etc., verify his unique insight and profound, “Brush and ink with the times”, it has called hundreds of years, but how many people have done? The painting circle is very crowded, good and bad intermingled, have talent, also have ripoff, some people get hollow reputation but lack of accomplishment, cause they haven’t focus energy on painting. But Zhao Yu is not the same, he regard arts as his life, always keep improving. Zhao Yu has good oil painting foundation, combine western painting techniques into landscape painting, this is the difference between the traditional painting and his painting, in order to express his mind of the present art ecological, grope for his own characteristics of artistic language symbols.
Li Zhao-yu 《Benyang in autumn》
Four
For Zhao Yu’s painting, he elaborate the composition and layout and density, I particularly interested in the density, the relationship between black and white. Chinese painting has always pay attention to density. But Huang Bin-hong has his own meaning, thought that it’s opposite, means populated place with empty spirit of artistic，it should not be blank and inflexible, don’t let few ink neglect the strict statutes. Chinese painting reckon blank as inked, know and observe all but stay obscure. This is art philosophy derived from 《Tao te ching》:”Known by its white, keep the black”, known the white paper, keep the black ink, keep the emptiness of white space and the changes of ink, more interesting of blank in the picture actually, no drawing better than drawing here, great article here to do, so the blanks must carefully, Zhao Yu’s works 《Mountain area green color》、《Dai yunshan mountain in spring》，and many circle fun works, inky bright, thick place still with pervious light, white in the black. His works 《Boudoir series》, he just use stick outlined girls and vases and furniture on huge plat art paper, and completed it. the appropriate space gave us many infinite daydream, like Liu Yu-xi’s poetry: “A crane fly in the sky, quoted infinite poetry to the blue sky.” Bruch and ink embody the Chinese culture to the understanding of the relationship between man and nature, and the philosophies and ideals, this is the miraculous place of the long lasting and everlasting beauty Chinese paintings! Zhao Yu’s painting margins are just right, both give the viewers imagine space, and increase the profound artistic conception of the picture. I see his superb painting capability and profound artistic accomplishment.
Li Zhao-yu 《Delicate fragrance》
Five
Now, Zhao Yu’s painting style has been increasingly mature and clear, this is the result of long-term persistence to explore, Qing dynasty Dai xi said:”Painting is pleased, better than surprised, Painting made people thinking, better than pleased”. Zhao Yu’s many works, made us surprised and pleased and thinking. Chinese culture often determined standard and degree to ascertain success or failure from “pneuma”, such as literature ”article get pneuma become profound”, so in literature, there is a saying “refine pneuma better than refine words”。 In landscape painting creation, and so it is, especially focus on “artistic conception vitality”、”artistic conception through”, certainly, gas has pure and impure, thin and thick, style has high and low, elegance and vulgarity, the realm of painting, namely the realm of life, the height of the realm of life, often close to the realm of painting. the key to solve this problem, depends on the height of the painter’s self accomplishment, you deep, your painting also deep, otherwise, brush and ink will be sloppy, very ugly.
Painting is the artist’s spiritual creation, no personality art is no soul, Zhao Yu’s painting, fluency and beauty, he use brush and ink praises the good humility and care, expresses his love and yearning and awe to mother nature, and also shows his personaliy, accomplishment, emotion and character. Zhao Yu told me that he graduated from normal university, wide-ranging read, so he can painting all kinds, at the same time he is good at poetry, someone commended that he is the poet of the painters, and the painter of the poets, this is so, his works are very gentle, permeated with elegant and refined everywhere.
2015.4.28 in Xiamen