Notes on Painting
As I myself develop, my painting style has changed from the original gloominess and heaviness to relaxation and cheerfulness—this feature is shown more apparently in my works created after 2005. In my painting works “Red Series”, feminine colors appear unconsciously. This is due to the “relaxation”, an embodiment of gradual maturity and optimism, which enables me to restore from the former nervousness to what can be shown in natural state. If it’s said that some erotic touch can be felt here, then here it’s natural and ambiguous. You can think about it but it’s never straightforward---it’s beautiful, melted and pleasant.
Painting has the most direct and intuitive effect. What is required more from painters in painting shall be intuition and concentration, instead of image design and concept reasoning. As to what is on conceptual level behind the painting, even if you don’t “present” it intentionally, it will naturally appear in the painting form following your own personality. I remember an excellent painter used to say: “My works don’t need interpretation; they only need light and observation.”---This is state I want to reach.
Exploration and contemplation towards new material and its presentation is closer to the “game-playing” color of art. A brand-new material, as a new language, can break a new ground. The pleasure to explore in a new realm brings me tremendous joy. I can relax in the joy, into a natural state oblivious of myself, and get close to a “dreamlike” verbal expression – freedom, nature, flow of sub-consciousness, and inspiration from cognitive snap. And proper joy will extend, affect and spread like love through painting.
Etherealness—it’s an active reconciliation between human and the world remaining on painting. Presentation on the state of etherealness, has been inheriting in the painting tradition of China, which is an active attitude under negative reclusion, and has the effect of mind-comforting and peace-delivering. Relaxed, optimistic, determined, open-minded, calm, peaceful, na?ve and inspired, for a person in the earthly world, this state is a possibility to yearn for. In my landscape serial paintings, there maybe some etherealness and quietness like this. Seemingly, they are to the sheer contrary of enriched-ness of flower series. However, actually it’s of the same inner demand---the demand to seek for harmony between movement and quietude, passion and peacefulness.
“I’m not sure”---this is said by amateur painter Guo Fengyi, which well reveals the creation motive of amateur painters. The emotion to tell but unclear, and the conflict unknown but hard to tell, form the creation impulse before painting. Children, retardates, and people who are accustomed to and depend on perceptual and emotional thinking, are well adjusted to this fulminant catharsis form . I feel lucky to find this form. This is the form for the weak and the silent. The impulse hard to explain or people are unwilling to explain forms energy, which is shown and delivered in painting. The confirmed ones are produced, while the ambiguous ones are still vague in paintings, and wait to grow to a tangible life in the future. However, though I can tell some of them, I’m still on the state of “not sure”. A painter is always in the cycle of unclearness and clearness. It’s suspicious if he is too “clear”; if he is too unclear, our feeling can’t follow it. My interpretation on my own paintings shall also be like this.
绘画札记
我的画面已经随着自身的成长，从原来的晦暗、滞重变得放松和开朗――这一特点在我２００５年之后的作品中更为突出地表现出来。在我的《红色系列》绘画作品里，本能地流露出女性色彩，这也是“放松”使然，是渐渐的成熟和达观，使我从原来的紧张还原到自然状态下所能表现的。如果说其中流露一些情欲色彩，那么它在这里是自然的、暧昧的、可以左思右想但不可以直白的——它是美的、融化的、愉悦的。
绘画有最直接、直观的作用。画家投入画面更多的，应当是直觉与专注，而不是形象设计与概念推理。至于画面背后思想层面的东西，即使你不去有意地“表现”，它也会在你遵从自身个性的画面形式中自然流露出来。记得有一位优秀的画家曾说“我的作品不需要阐释，只需灯光和观看。”――这也是我所慕求的境界。
对新材料及其表现的探索、玩味，更接近艺术的“游戏”色彩。全新的材料，作为一种新语言，可以开辟一片新领域。一种在新疆域里置景开源的快感给了我极大的愉悦。在愉悦中放松，放松到一种自然、忘我的状态，更可以接近“梦一样的”语言表达——自由、自然，潜意识流动、以及灵光一现地出彩。而恰当的愉悦，会通过画面，像爱一样绵延、感染、流传。
空灵——它是一种留存在画面上的人与世界的积极和解。对空灵境界的表现，一直在中国的绘画传统中传承，这是消极避世之下的积极态度，它有安抚人心、传递安宁的作用。放松、达观，抱一，容纳、空旷、平和、天真而灵动，这种境界对一个俗世的人来说，可以作为一种可能去向往。在我的山水系列作品里，或许有着这样一些空灵与寂静。看起来它和花系列的浓烈相反、相差很大。实际上它是同样的内心需要——动与静，激情与安宁之间寻求和谐的需要。
“我不知道”——郭凤怡的这句话很好地揭示了素人艺术家的创作动机。欲辩而又莫名的情绪、了然于心而又无以言说的冲突，造成了绘画前的创作冲动。孩子、弱智者、习惯和依赖于感性思维和情绪思维的人们，很适合绘画这种暴发性的宣泄形式。我庆幸我找到了这种方式。这是弱者、沉默者的方式。难以解释或不愿解释的冲动构成了能量，在画面中流露和传达，确切下来的得以出生，混沌的，仍模糊在画面里，等待之后长成有形的生命。但是，尽管我能说明白一些，也仍然会处于“不知道”之中。一个画家就是在一直在混沌与明白的循环之中。太“明白”，那值得怀疑；太混沌，又不值得我们的感觉去跟随。我对自己的画作的解释也应该如此。
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