1997 Liu Xinchun Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition of China Art Museum
During 1997, Liu Xinchun held a solo exhibition in China Art Museum. During this period, his paintings have begun to take shape. Although the creation time was rather hasty, generate expressed his enthusiasm and pursuit for new forms and new scenes of flower-and-bird painting. So far, he is pleased with these flower-and-bird paintings and their creative experience, which is the peak of his artistic experience for half a lifetime. It is a milestone and a new beginning to explore the development and innovation of flower-and-bird painting language.
Q: It is regarded as an important thing for a painter to hold an exhibition in China Art Museum, so must your mood. So what was the original intention of deciding to hold an exhibition at that time?
Liu Xinchun (hereinafter referred to as Liu): I just retired and became a professional painter. I wanted to have time to sort out my 40-year exploration of flower-and-bird painting, so I came up with the idea of holding an exhibition in China Art Museum. After more than a year's careful preparation, I have created many paintings by using the painting style of flower-and-bird landscape painting, and created the schema of flower-and-bird landscape painting and expanded and reshaped the pen and ink language. These works are my understanding of the development of Chinese painting pen and ink for many years. How to transform the flower-and-bird scenery in nature into the form of pen and ink is a problem that I have been thinking about, and it is also a creative road of flower-and-bird painting put forward and practiced by artists of the older generation such as Pan Tianshou and Guo Weiqu. I have been painting along this road until I have a new understanding of these flower-and-bird paintings, which makes me more confident in this exhibition.
Q: So you were confident in holding the exhibition and made full preparations.
Liu: Yes, the help of relatives and friends is very important. When I was in Luoyang, my friend Li Boan helped me publish the album Liu Xinchun's Calligraphy and Painting Collection. In this album, there is an inscription by Mr. Sun Qifeng and a preface by Mr. Qin Lingyun, which gave me great encouragement and support. Especially my old friend from Gong Dazhong who graduated from Central Academy of Fine Arts recommended me to visit famous painters and theorists at that time, such as Zhang Ding, Qin Lingyun, Fan Ceng, Liu Boshu, Jiang Caiping, Zhang Shiyan, Sun Qifeng, Wang Chaowen and Jin Weinuo. Mr. Gong Dazhong presided over the symposium in the exhibition. Scholars who participated in the symposium commented and summarized the paintings and theories, and put forward many valuable opinions, which are still fresh in their memories.
Q: Some of your painting friends still like these flower-and-bird paintings very much. You can see an impulse to create, a love and understanding of nature.
Liu: Some friends do say that. For the sake of this exhibition and the pursuit of the development of flower-and-bird painting, I have devoted myself to the exploration of flower-and-bird small landscape painting and the accumulation of brush and ink knowledge for many years, and with a creative impulse and courage, I have tried my best to show the natural scene in my mind in the picture. That year was tense and full. In addition to some familiar creative themes, I often sketch in the mountainous areas around Henan, such as Funiu Mountain, Mangling Mountain and Qingyao Mountain, looking for scenery rich in northern lush charm. Therefore, this batch of works mainly photographed rocks, gully ponds, wild forests and flowers, birds, eagles and magpies in the north, showing the state of rain and dew all year round.
Q: The formation of your little flower-and-bird landscape painting is a profound understanding of the natural state, framing and creating the environment, reflecting your trust in nature and praising the beautiful life state.
Liu: You are right. Being in the mountains, you enjoy the harmony of nature. Every grass and tree has feelings, showing the state of life endowed by nature. Therefore, some humble flowers and plants, or common shrubs and jungles, often appear in my paintings. Some unique scenes, such as wild jujube trees struggling in the earth and stone, wild chrysanthemums in the ice, lush grass vines, dancing in the butterfly valley, all show their splendor. The spiritual bodies in nature are all kinds of birds, such as golden pheasant, pheasant, magpie, starling, sparrow, eagle and so on. They are the protagonists in the painting, following the laws and choices of nature and conforming to the atmosphere of heaven and earth and mountains and rivers. Are we getting farther and farther away from them, or is it only there that we can find spiritual comfort?
Q: I am touched that you talk about nature so openly. These feelings have deeply influenced your flower-and-bird painting, basically determined the meteorological tone of the picture, and also mobilized the pen and ink.
Liu: All kinds of life are harmonious notes, and nature is an ensemble movement, which shows the rhythm and rhythm of nature. This is the tone of the natural weather in my paintings, and the pen and ink move with it, and the pen and ink are natural and nurtured. In the long-term pen and ink training, every painter will form his own set of pen and ink language forms, that is, taking the meaning of sketching and dipping Mo Yun Cang Hua in sketching and dyeing. My painting focuses on solving the problem of creating a boundary with lines. The expression and refinement of rich lines highlight the vastness and richness of the north, and ink painting is written with pen and ink, without losing the interest of flower-and-bird painting.
Q: Looking at your flower-and-bird paintings, I feel very traditional, but after careful taste, it seems to have a modern atmosphere.
Liu: What you are talking about is the modernity of flower-and-bird painting and the inheritance and innovation of flower-and-bird painting in China. In the 20th century, Huang, Pan Tianshou, Qi Baishi and other painters of the older generation all had unique views and practices on the inheritance and innovation of Chinese painting, and their research results inspired and inspired future generations to continue to fight for it. I inherited the artistic ideas of Pan Tianshou and Guo Weiqu about developing the language of flower-and-bird painting and creating landscapes with flowers and birds. Guo Weiqu put forward the painting ideas of combining flowers and birds with landscape, freehand brushwork with meticulous brushwork, heavy color with splash ink, and created natural small landscape images. This kind of painting method should have solid sketch skills, good pen and ink techniques and traditional cultural implications, as well as modern people's visual feelings and new pen and ink forms, which are full of modern people's knowledge and understanding of life. These paintings were created under such guiding ideology, which not only realized the picture in the heart, but also laid a solid foundation for the further development in the future. It is really gratifying.
Q: With this exhibition, a seminar was organized, which had a great influence on you, right?
Liu: Yes, this symposium was presided over by Mr. Wang. Many painters and theorists from various research institutes in Beijing came to offer suggestions and put forward many valuable opinions on my batch of flower-and-bird paintings. First of all, they affirmed the successful performance of these paintings. They take the method naturally, live from the source, and feel cordial, as if they had entered nature. Only those who really love life and have persistent pursuit of art are real painters. They think that artists from Luoyang have no peony works, which is an unconventional performance. Now it seems that peony is rich, and if this kind of wealth is manifested in small scenes and wild interests, it can also create elegant and noble masterpieces. They hope that they can continue to draw along this road, streamline and refine, sharpen their swords in ten years, and let them see more exquisite and open-minded flower and bird paintings.
Liu Xinchun's Bird of Paradise Creation Group Painting
Q: Bird of Paradise is a theme creation, and it is also a good choice of theme and pen and ink form for flower-and-bird painting.
Liu: The natural scenery and human history in the north and south have their own characteristics. A northern flower-and-bird painter's feeling of Lingnan natural scenery is fresh and cordial. Regional differences expand the theme of creation, and at the same time blend the charm of the north and the south, which is both moist and beautiful in the south and heavy in the north. At that time, I went to Lingnan area for a lot of collecting wind. According to the different climate, vegetation growth and different birds in the south, my paintings incorporate banyan trees, palm trees, turtle backs, white parrots, egrets and other images. In addition to strengthening the expressive force of lines, I further explored the use of ink painting and color to enrich the writing of small landscape paintings and landscape images. Theme creation is one of the ways of painting research, which can mobilize the initiative and enthusiasm of painters to explore the language of pen and ink and promote the formation of painting style.
Q: The creation group of Birds of Paradise is your research and creation during your stay in China Academy of Fine Arts, mainly large-scale small landscape paintings. This period is also an important period for the development of your flower-and-bird landscape painting.
Q: Compared with the paintings exhibited by 1997 in China Art Museum, the paintings of this period are more important in the refinement of pen and ink and the writing of artistic conception.
Q: Painting works ultimately express artistic conception and convey a kind of thought and emotion. The painting "Bird of Paradise" reflects the amorous feelings and dew of nature.
Q: These flower-and-bird paintings are rich in creative themes, which are the painting records of your phased research. They are mainly collected in the book Liu Xinchun's freehand flower-and-bird painting art.
Q: So, do you want to continue this theme in your future creation?
Q: Then I wish you a new look in the field of flower-and-bird painting.
Liu: Thank you!
Liu Xinchun White Eagle Map
Caigen Tan language: "Without romantic flowers, there is no luck;" No desire, no appetite, no brain. If I only change things and don't serve me with things, then lust is not a secret, but dust is the reason. " Those who know this language well grasp the spirit of heaven and earth in nature, embody nature in life, write the realm of dust and reason with pen and ink, and draw the realm of reason as a state of mind. This is the original intention of Liu Xinchun to draw this white eagle picture, and it is also a portrayal of his attitude towards life and creative mentality.
Dust is Truth is the creation of Liu Xinchun's solo exhibition held by 1997 in China Art Museum. It is the key to the success of this work to express the artistic conception and implication of this culture with the theme of white eagle brooding. Eagle culture has a long history and is regarded as auspicious bird in ancient legends. This auspicious concept affects and changes people's ideology and real life. There is a word "white elephant" in auspiciousness, which refers to many white-haired animals, so the white eagle is considered as a symbol of auspiciousness, nobility and pride in the world. Li Bai said in "Watching the White Eagle": "Flying alone in a piece of snow, seeing autumn in a hundred miles." White eagle is vigorous, smart and alert, and looks at the world. In addition, its pure coat color is extremely rare in nature. It is also a rare bird enjoyed by literati. Liu Yuxi wrote that the white eagle "has white feathers, and the horse can't guess." Throw a little into the clouds and drink and kill three places. Green jade breaks the chicken brain, and golden claws break the rabbit heart. It is necessary to understand biology, so people are humane and handsome. "
There were many people who painted eagles in ancient times, but few white eagles, such as Evonne and Ranning. Those who are far away are Li Kuchan and Sun Qifeng. , have been handed down from generation to generation. Some white eagles in the painting perch on turquoise, some prey on birds, and some ride on white eagles, most of which are nuanced. Liu Xinchun's white eagle shot a corner of the cliff. The eagle's habit is to nest here, and it is made of dead branches. This is a dangerous place surrounded by mountains and has a wide view. This painting depicts two white eagles preying and brooding. One paw is pressing the dead bird with fresh meat in its mouth, and the other is pacing outside the nest, looking back. The bird's nest in the lower left corner of the picture is fluffy and firm, backed by a cliff, shaded by branches on both sides, and swaying by a breeze. The whole painting shows a peaceful and harmonious environment, with no intention of bloodthirsty plunder. What is the dust situation and what is the reason?
This work takes the white eagle as the main body, which requires the painter to have strong sketching ability and be good at the refining of pen and ink, so as to "make things wonderful without distortion" and thus achieve the image of both form and spirit. Sketching is to write about its vitality and living conditions. Even so in the Song Dynasty, Su Shi said that "a gentleman's inquisitiveness is based on business studies". Mr. Guo Weiqu "planted bamboo for fifty years, which means it overflows, so he has no intention of coming to the bottom of his wrist." If he has a well-thought-out plan, he must observe life carefully. Liu Xinchun loves eagle's lofty sentiments, and observes its manner. Although the four white eagles in his works are written with Italian pens, their shapes and structures are closely combined, and they are dyed in multiple layers, especially on the eagle's mouth, eyes and claws, which are vivid and vivid, especially the texture of claws is lifelike. In addition to form and quality, it is the expression of pen and ink. Shi Tao and Ceng Yun said: "Murphy doesn't cultivate well, and the pen is not alive." It takes a long time to summarize the form of pen and ink from natural life and explore the individual expression of pen and ink spirit. The brush and ink of the rocks and trees behind the white eagle are more concise and clever, and the gas of brush and ink is integrated with the gas of heaven and earth, which is in sharp contrast with the fine depiction of the white eagle.
Liu Xinchun's White Eagle is his masterpiece, which follows the method of combining landscape with flowers and birds, combining meticulous brushwork with freehand brushwork, and splashing ink with heavy colors proposed by Mr. Guo Weiqu. It has the exquisiteness of Song people, the breath of Yuan people and the spirit of pen and ink of Ming people, and is now in China National Painting Academy.
Liu Xinchun's Understanding of Peony Painting
Peony is known as "the king of flowers" and "always leading people", and has long been regarded as a symbol of wealth, good fortune and prosperity. Its bright color, rich fragrance, elegance and generosity are praised by literati, celebrities and royal nobles in past dynasties. Ancient poetry and prose are all sung, while traditional fine paintings are all embellishments. The Chinese nation loves peony and has a history of planting peony.
Peony is a rare woody flower unique to China. It has been planted in China for over 400 years. As an ornamental plant, artificial cultivation began at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Xie said in "Taiping Magnolia": "There were many peonies in Yongjia bamboo in the Southern Song Dynasty", and the word peony was recorded in historical documents. Peony cultivated by the ancients has many varieties and different colors. In the Tang Dynasty's "Seamount Story", it was recorded that "Yang Di is a western garden, and the land is divided into 200 miles, which is destined to be spent in the world. There are twenty kinds of peony in Yizhou, including Feilaihong, Yuanjiahong, Zuihuanhong, Yun Hong, Tianwaihong, Yihuhuang, Yan 'an Huang, Xianchunhong and Jifengjiao. "During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, peonies were planted in Chang 'an. Liu Yuxi praised in "Peony Appreciation": "The peony demon in front of the court is unqualified, and the lotus on the pool is quiet and indifferent. Only peony is the real national color, and capital moves when flowers bloom. " In the Song Dynasty, the center of planting peony moved to Luoyang, and with the changes of history, it moved to Chengdu, Sichuan, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Haozhou, Anhui, Heze, Shandong and other places. Once spread to Japan, the Netherlands, Britain, France, and became the mother of peony cultivation in the world.
Ouyang Xiu, a writer in the Song Dynasty, made a detailed investigation on the history, cultivation, varieties and customs of Luoyang peony, and wrote China's first peony monograph, Luoyang Peony Story, which wrote: "Peony leaves Danzhou, Yanzhou and Qingzhou in the east, and Yuezhou in the south, and Luoyang is the best in the world." Luoyang peony is famous for its large flowers and bright colors. Today, there are more than 600 varieties and nine colors of peony, which is an important theme created by literati painters. There are countless people who are good at painting peony in history, but the rise of contemporary painting peony in Luoyang began in the late 1970s, and the first Luoyang Federation of Literary and Art Circles was established. At this time, Liu Xinchun, vice chairman of Luoyang Artists Association, and Zhou Yansheng, two painters working in Luoyang Cultural Center, took the lead in creating peony paintings. Peony flower, as a flower with historical and cultural connotations, has rich and auspicious folk meanings. Peony painting has won the support of the vast number of appreciators, followed by the annual Luoyang Peony Flower Festival.
Liu Xinchun was one of the earliest painters who painted peony in Luoyang. His peony paintings highlight the richness and vitality of peony and the colorful visual effects of the picture. He mainly absorbed the peony paintings of famous artists such as Xu Wei, Ren Bonian, Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi and Wang Xuetao. Xu Wei's Peony Map is famous for its freehand brushwork, and its calligraphy is full of pen and ink. He combined the traditional sketching techniques with pen and ink, showing the elegant quality and heroic bearing of literati. Liu Xinchun absorbed the peony flower heads in the two directions in Xu Wei's paintings, which enhanced the sense of space in the picture. These two images can often be seen in Liu Xinchun's peony paintings. At the same time, it also absorbed Xu Wei's stippling technique and bold lyrical atmosphere.
Starting from the tradition, Ren Bonian's peony painting combines folk painting, western painting sketch and color method, develops boneless sketch, highlights the real effect, and uses western colors such as western red, so his painting is bright, clean and elegant, forming a bright and enthusiastic style of working and writing, which has a great influence on modern times. Liu Xinchun's peony paintings have absorbed Ren Bonian's disc-shaped peony flower head, realistic freehand brushwork, clear and lively color feeling, and folk themes, such as painting peony and chicken together to express the meaning of "wealth and good fortune".
In his later years, Wu Changshuo painted more peonies and integrated calligraphy, seal cutting and knife cutting into his paintings. The flower heads are bright and colorful, with strong contrast. He likes to use carmine and magenta, revealing innocent colors, that is, calm and bright. Peony leaves are mostly depicted in thick ink and heavy colors, vigorous and powerful. This freehand brushwork has a great influence on modern painting. Liu Xinchun absorbed Wu Changshuo's discoid flower heads, the use of carmine color, the bold brushwork and the bold spirit of pen and ink.
Qi Baishi also painted peonies and paid attention to calligraphy with pens. He is concise and precise, with only a few strokes, but full of vitality. His paintings have formed a unique freehand brushwork style, with red flowers and ink leaves. Peony flower head summarizes the previous painting methods and treats it into two forms: disc and tower, forming a personalized painting effect. At the same time, he combined red, green and ink with folk color feeling, and saw the true feelings in childishness. Liu Xinchun absorbed the artistic effects of safflower and ink leaves in Qi Baishi's peony paintings, forming a bright color contrast, and also absorbed two personalized art forms, namely disc and tower, which enhanced the sense of form of the picture.
Wang Xuetao has made outstanding contributions to modern small freehand brushwork flower-and-bird painting in China. He painted many peony paintings, inherited the traditional pen and ink interest, and absorbed the western painting methods of sketching. The combination of fine brushwork and fine brushwork is like a fairy tale, which shows the exquisite elegance of peony flowers. On the one hand, he pursues the dexterity and diversity of pen and ink, on the other hand, he combines face and ink, and integrates the color law of western painting into the traditional inherent color to achieve the contrast and coordination of the overall color. Liu Xinchun absorbed Wang Xuetao's sketch technique and clever charm, and used carmine and western red.
Liu Xinchun's peony painting, on the basis of inheriting the above-mentioned famous painting techniques, summarizes the peony flower head into two forms: disc shape and tower shape, pays attention to sketching and uses the painting method of stippling. The bold use of carmine and western red in color is strong, steady and gorgeous, and the flower shape is outlined with gold thread, highlighting the skill of using work instead of writing. Lotus fan painted by Song people is outlined on delicate petals with gold thread, which is full of charm and adds wealth and creativity. Liu Xinchun applied this technique to peony painting, which made the distant view have a freehand brushwork effect and the close view have the characteristics of meticulous painting. At the same time, he moved the bud into the picture, personalized it and dyed it three green, which not only matched the red flowers, but also highlighted the breath of spring. The leaves are filled with ink with double hooks, which further develops the artistry of safflower ink leaves. Peony branches are colored with double hooks and interspersed with flowers and leaves, which not only embodies the characteristics of peony woody plants, but also enhances the rich and moist artistic effect. Liu Xinchun's peony painting has made a breakthrough in the form of pen and ink and the use of color. On the subject matter, there are not only paintings that show festive meanings, such as matching magpies and cocks, but also peony scenery at the water's edge in the mountains, which makes him unique in today's peony painting world.