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A Painting Trip of Xiangxi (Western Hunan) China
我出生在湖南沅水邊的桃源縣，少年時代是在湘西常德城長大的，這多年來，總想回去看看，順便去去鳳凰與茶峒追尋那少小時的印象、和沈從文筆下的湘西風情。於是在一九八八年秋天與三位香港青年畫家結伴赴湘西旅行寫生。 湘西首府吉首過去稱所裡，現在是土家族苗族自治州政經文化中心，大大小小的工廠滿蓋灰塵地佈滿了城市四周。馬路上的塵土、街邊大堆小堆的涼薯，汽車的高音喇叭與長髮披肩，穿著時髦的姑娘構成城市的有趣畫面。只有一些穿插其中的苗人婦女的大包頭和衣著告訴人們這就是湘西，改革開放已然啟動的湘西。...
What to bring on a plein air painting trip?
I have written about the benefits of small plein air painting and how and why it can help improve color observation skills. Suppose you are totally convinced and would like to give it a try or you simply love to paint outdoors, what should you bring? Sure, you can...
Chen Yifei and Me
I’ve been meaning to write about my friendship with Chen Yifei for a number of years. I put off putting pen to paper however because he had just passed away and it may give the impression of trying to ride on his coattails. Now is a slightly better time to write about...
Song-Yuan Dynasty Landscapes and Picasso
作爲一名畫家，可能大家最熟知的是我的油畫。但在我走上油畫的道路之前, 我花了相當多的時間在中國水墨畫上。多年來, 我在東西方藝術體系方面的經驗使我有一些有趣的觀察, 其中之一是中國山水畫和畢卡索立體主義原理上的相似之處。 東方藝術與西方藝術是兩大體系，宋元山水怎麼會與畢加索、立體主義扯在一起呢？他們是風馬牛不相及的東西，但當我們細心地去研究和品味時，會發現兩者之間有著奇妙的相關之處。 ...
The Long River of Drawing
素描的長河 回憶起20世紀60年代初，我正在廣州美術學院附中唸書，當首次見到郭紹綱教授自蘇聯留學帶回的人體素描時，我真是受到了極大的震動！同年夏天又赴北京，參觀了徐悲鴻紀念館，目睹大師好多素描原作。從此，我就被素描深深地吸引住了。90年代，我先後赴歐洲、美國，在各大美術館中，特別留意了達．芬奇、拉斐爾、倫勃朗、安格爾、德加、凡．高的素描作品。最近，又遠飛俄羅斯，將契斯恰柯夫、列賓、謝洛夫、弗魯別爾及列賓美術學院陳列館中的優秀畫作一一拜讀。至此，我彷彿沿著大師們的足跡，遊覽了素描的長河，這長河兩岸景色綺麗，美不勝收。...
Story telling through narrative painting
In a movie, there are ninety minutes to two hours to tell a story which usually includes setup, confrontation, climax and resolution. In an ad, there are thirty seconds to catch the audience's attention and hopefully persuade them to take some action with what...
Light at the end of the tunnel
Miners’ Lament is the latest narrative painting that I finished. The inspiration for Miners’ Lament goes back all the way to my time in China. 《礦山悲歌》的構想起源很久，源自在大陸時期。 Prior to 1980, I worked at Zhaoqing in Guangdong where there was a medium-sized coal mine outside of...
How to do classical bust study – a step-by-step guide
It seems that classical bust study is no longer offered in art programs and still life is the common entry level drawing class is drawing classes are offered at all. I seem to have lived under a rock for I have practiced drawing, including cast drawing, alongside my...
In memory of Jin Yong and my days as an illustrator
Renowned novelist Louis Cha Leung Yung (better known by his pen name Jin Yong) passed away on October 30, 2018 at the age of 94. According to Wikipedia, he was the best selling Chinese author by the time of his death. More than 100 million of his books have been sold...
How to sketch a subject in action – tips from decades of sketching
This is the second post about sketching. In the previous post, we talked about the importance of sketching. In this post, we will talk about how to sketch and strengthen your sketching skills. One of the blog readers asked how to sketch a subject in action. The short...
