Text / Liu Shouxin
The importance of the color for the painting needless to say, we should not become an academic problem. But in the history of the development of China painting, because of the "ink first" concept guidance role, resulting in a color which is one of the most important visual elements in the Chinese painting value has not been given due attention, this is obviously biased. The value of color in painting becomes a problem that needs to be explored and examined.
The value of color began in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, after the rise of the ink painting in the Song and Yuan dynasties. Ink painting was highly praised by the literati community, and became the mainstream of painting in Yuan and Ming and Qing dynasties. Theorists and critics deliberately avoid the charm of color, because of unfair understanding of color, as well as the concept of respect to the text matures, the color gradually fade out the vision of literati painters, therefore, in the process of development of China painting, gradually separate from the color contact. Along with the Chinese literati constantly, China ink painting gradually formed quiet, pale, clear, elegant, dry and ink tastes, gradually alienated Chinese painting warm and bright mood and feeling, no longer have more similar music because of the effect of color contrast. It can be said that no color performance, China painting less natural vitality, more mysterious; less real life, much less fuss and visual reality, more abstract metaphysics. To a certain extent, the deprivation of artistic feeling in Chinese traditional philosophy is reflected in the fact that the power of color is obscured.
Liu Shouxin | "yak" (IV) | 45 x 45cm | 2008
Beyond the mundane, elegant indifferent ink painting, until now, people still have psychological needs, but it should not be insurmountable boundaries. After all, the world is infinitely bright color we can not avoid, whether it is man-made nature or pure natural landscape. The contemporary people's sense of vision becomes very sensitive under the stimulation of modern sound, light, electricity and art, not satisfied with the traditional aesthetic tastes. The color in the modern product design and the environment art design represents the taste, the sentiment and the sentiment direction, is all encompassing, the powerful symbol. As a result, today's artists should not stick to the aesthetic habits of the ancients, and the first priority is to exclude the vitality of the color of the melody.
The fourth of Xiehe’s "Liufa" as "different kinds of color", said the painting color should be in accordance with the different images of different colors. Here so-called "category", both the image of the category, but also the category of solid objects. It seems to exclude the changeable color change of Western painting. In other words, the exclusion of many factors affecting the color has conceptual tendency. The fact that this is not the case, the color of Chinese painting can sometimes reflect the impact of the season, climate and other variables on the color. Such as the Northern Song Dynasty painter Wang Shen "Snow in Fish Village" performance at the end of winter spring scenery, the tree branches to pale ochre, blue sky and stream water is rendering at different degree cyan, and with a layer of a stream deposited pigment, painting with color used properly and have a clear sense of the painting and zhao Danian; "Hu Zhuang Qing Xia Tu" show scenery in summer, pale ochre color picture of a forest tree with dark green and blue, vividly reflects the strong seasonal characteristics summer shade.
Use color in Chinese painting to pay attention to "color tone", the word is a term from western painting. The color of Chinese painting is different from that of the western painting: the western painting pays attention to the color of the environment and the light source, and considers the influence of the color to form a unified tone. Tone is a picture of the overall color effect, if you do not pay attention to color, the picture will be "flower", "chaos", "timid". Chinese color painting has its own "tonality", namely the color relations require careful combination, become a harmonious unity and personality characteristics of the whole. The Qing Dynasty Zou Yigui sadi: "five color application, there will be the main color. With a single color, other colors attached." The color shades have be the most changeful, dense, pure secondary, shading and other many opposing factors, various contradictions in the conflict in the formation of compromise visual impact, even can produce many parts of the symphony effect.
Liu Shouxin | "wind blowing valley sounding" | 69 x 138cm | 2007
The ancient painters require the use of color to "muddy", namely color and other basic tasks and burden together, to achieve "ink in color, ink in color”, ink is not a floating lag effect. Ancient Chinese painting called "Danqing", known as "outstanding painting skill". Chinese color in painting not to cater to western painting practice, the pursuit of color change in the details of the real, but should keep ink charm, in ink color strength fusion in flavor, so-called "ink based, color supplement", "color does not prevent ink, ink does not hinder the color", both complement each other in the stressed ink and color, side by side, both are indispensable. Traditional Chinese painting to shape based in ink generally, in order to enrich and enhance the color image of the body color. Ink and color foil each other, as far as possible to play the due effect. In contrast with the color must be very careful, not used well as tacky. The color is too flowery but not calm; anger is dry and high color purity; color collocation and vulgarity are not afraid. Mr Pan Tianshou said: "color is easy to gorgeous, not easy to quaint, ink easy to quaint, not easy to vulgar, ink matching color, is to help difficult using color." Today, some people who try to play the symphony of the color of the people go to the Westernization of the road to replace the ink color, almost the Chinese painting into a Western watercolor or gouache. It did not pay attention to create China unique color or color ink painting language system.
In addition, the number of colors, not to determine the standard of a good or bad painting, but a painting color is too colorful, easy to clutter, so that the main body can’t be prominent, it will lose the sense of wholeness. Mr Pan Tianshou said: "the color can be complicated, but simply also can win. Complex is not easy, simple is not easy. The use of color in Chinese painting, mainly primary color and pure color, often use two or three colors in a painting, fresh and cool and clear, not necessarily to pursue complex. But several colors to match well, you can increase the artistic conception of the work."
Twentieth Century western paintings gradually spare eastward, influenced by foreign color concept, landscape painting recover pay attention to use color, formed modern chromatographic techniques, with the traditional concept of the green landscape painting has been far from, Chinese painting appeared "fusion of Chinese and western" phenomenon. Principle of "fusion of Chinese and western", embodied in the combination of western romanticism, impressionism and expressionism thinking, so that the ink and color of mutual penetration, relatively uniform lines and colors, including external volume, quality, light, space and other factors. Twentieth Century Chinese color ink flower and bird painting more subtly combines elements of western painting and landscape painting, due to the inherent composition, perspective, blank layout and artistic conception, there is always different from the western landscape painting. Chinese landscape painting has its own brilliance. Matisse copied oriental ink painting, Picasso also had copied the works of Qi Baishi, Van Gogh's painting absorbs the quintessence of Ukiyoe, is also influenced by China painting, several well known masters of works can be said to have the art fusion factor.
Liu Shouxin | "Bayanhar"| 50 x 65cm | 2009
Western painting attaches importance to the analysis of solid color, light source color and environmental color. Chinese painting put it together as "sensory color", is due to the external color after internal perception to form a color image, the so-called green everywhere, thousands of mountains are red, appears on the screen of the warm and cold colors are subjective color. Bai Shi painting peony, with rich western red painting peony flower, foil splash-ink black leaves, leaf dry bias has rich vitality of the green image, but the habit of no one leaves the black as black, this principle itself is complementary relation generated by the illusion, at the same time ink painting also expressed Chinese painting saturation and intensity. Mr. Li Kuchan in the observation methods have penetrated into Chinese painting form principle of Western painting, because he penetrated the principle of abstraction and representation of freehand painting, his strength is a combination of Weibei and the form feeling, so the ink in the key place but make snap, reflect the structure of the use of rice paper strokes constitute rich level diversity. The above examples show that the traditional Chinese painting also has the similar aesthetic principles of Chinese and Western painting. What was observed because of different methods of painting, Western painting pursuit of shape and color release, Chinese painting pursuit of the heart and God's home, anyway, there is no essential difference, is the pursuit of beauty, because beauty is the soul of the enlightenment. The language of human art is interlinked, only the times, there is no geographical distinction.
Half a century ago, Mr. Lin Fengmian pointed out: "the so-called Chinese painting, in the past few years, the biggest problem is to forget the time, forget the natural." The so-called forget the time and nature means that people stay indoors, addicted to repeat themselves and copying the ancients. Contemporary artists should go deep into life, showing the beauty of the real natural scenery, and should not only look at the traditional landscape album without the breath of life. The dynasties of the painters have attached great importance to explore the beauty of life. Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of the landscape painter Jing Hao, Guan Tong, description of peculiar scenery of Taihang, Guanxia area, the Northern Song Dynasty landscape painter Li Cheng, Fan Kuan express the forceful scenery of Qilu, Qinling Mountains. Because of the influence of transportation and information tools of the ancients trace. In the era of progress, today's artists can understand the vast landscape of the earth through satellite remote sensing image. Mr. Lin has not been to Shangri-La, why he would draw Shangri-La like an exquisite scenery mood? The appearance of beauty is the reflection of image and heart. Mr. Lin Fengmian took the modern western impressionism, Fauvism, cubism, surrealism China introduction of traditional ink painting, not only enrich the China painting techniques, also formed its own unique style of painting, to become a pioneer of the Chinese painting to modernization. Ink painting overlooking the Hengduan Mountains like Zhang Daqian in Chengdu to Lhasa on the plane, in the misty evening with crayons, energy flow, temporal and spatial development, cyclotron reciprocating, Mr. Zhang Daqian whether the color green landscape and beautiful decoration, exquisitely carved ink and color shading, ethereal, fantasy, mystery, this unique, infiltration of Oriental color language reflects the psychological state of the painter naive and lively sense of color. Mr Zhang Daqian's knowledge, insight, openness, tolerance to arouse people travel yearning, stimulated the eternal hope of life. Zhang Daqian did not go to the Hengduan Mountains, why Hengduan Mountains with the shadow of Zhang Daqian? Two masters advocate the "fusion" is the station in the height of history, have a stalwart figure.
Liu Shouxin | "hidden screen in autumn"| 69 x 95 | 2011
In this great era, we should achieve more brilliant art. The landscape of the change to the real world to seek answers to the inspiration from nature for landscape soul, brush and ink for bone, color clothing, magnificent physique in a fancy dress, is the artistic image of national pride. Especially the western landscape painter to Hengduan Mountains and Shangri-La as the blueprint, the modern landscape painting new realm, the small blue green, large blue green, gold green landscape, splash color ink into the modern musical elements, write a new period of color symphony.
January 15th, 2007