Shu Xinshui and his paintings
Zhou Jingxin
When he was admitted to the undergraduate Chinese painting major of Nanjing University of the Arts, Xinshui was a soldier with a strong temperament He is simple and exudes a strong "military atmosphere". When he meets a teacher in school, he can't help but stand at attention and salute, which is quite "alternative". After entering the school, Xinshui was appointed as the squad leader without any suspense. I then discovered that he was also "military" in how he dealt with people. He was tough, bright, straightforward, and had an energy about him that ordinary students did not have. This special personality of his had a great impact on the atmosphere of their class of seven boys and eight girls.
Like his personal temperament, Xinshui Huahua is also naive. He studies hard, never slacks off, and is bold when painting. He often ignores small details and paints naturally and happily. When it came time to graduate from the undergraduate program, he chose me as his instructor. The painting was a group of six-foot freehand figures, using the life of engineering soldiers as the material. The shape and brushwork effects were good, and he was very popular in the class.
After graduating in 1996, Xinshui suddenly disappeared from the painting table. I heard that he went to sea to make a living and suffered a lot, but he also did a good job in a few years. Effectiveness. Three years later, Xinshui suddenly came back. He said he wanted to take the postgraduate examination for me, and he passed the examination in one go, which put aside my doubts and worries about his move.
During the three years of being a graduate student, Xinshui suffered a lot from me. In view of the actual situation that he has not had the opportunity to write for many years after graduating from undergraduate degree and feels relatively rusty, I intentionally asked him to restore the accumulation he had accumulated during his undergraduate period, and then sort out the strengths and weaknesses that he was bold enough to take without considering the small details, and then highlight them. What should be emphasized should be suppressed, and what should be suppressed should be suppressed. Integrate your own feelings and touch. However, I soon discovered that it was difficult and unfeasible for him to regain the previous feeling of the new water. Because, although his current feelings and state are a bit erratic, they are real after all, and they are very different from those three years ago. He is also simple and naive, but in comparison, although he is more skilled, he seems much more immature. It's obviously unnecessary to force him to be his past self.
Similar to the problems that some students have when painting, Xinshui was once attached to my painting method, especially in the brush and ink. There were obvious traces of imitation at one time, and it was difficult to deal with this problem of other students. In the same way, I also adopt the method of "one ban and two drives". The "first ban" is: prohibiting copying my paintings; the "second ban" is: driving them away from me and driving them back to find their own feelings. The purpose of this move is not only to avoid the phenomenon of cloning between teachers and students, but more importantly, to establish a belief in teaching, that is: if there is no own thing in the painting, no matter how precise and complete it is, it is meaningless.
Xinshui has put great thought and effort into this aspect. Starting from the second stage of graduate school, he began to create graduation works, choosing the most life-oriented "food market series" as his subject matter. His brushwork and shapes still pursued simplicity and nature, and highlighted the sense of naivety and clumsiness. He only changed the original boldness. He adjusted the quantity more steadily, and took into account the details that he didn't care much about before. Overall, his paintings are closer to him, better than those in his undergraduate studies, and his ability to control himself is also more in place. .
After graduation, Xinshui stayed at the school to teach, while completing his teaching work conscientiously, he did not relax in his major. In addition to engaging in theme creation and actively participating in various art exhibitions, he also painted a lot of character sketches, line drawings, and freehand brushwork, which kept him engaged and effectively honed his comprehensive abilities. Compared with the past, he was better in all aspects. There has been a lot of improvement, especially in the aspect of styling awareness that I have been urging him to pay attention to.
I have always believed that modeling is the primary issue in painting, especially when painting characters. The modeling problem must be solved, and the understanding and expression of character modeling must be clear and clear to find a way out. How can we solve the styling problem? You need to have a life, be interesting, find methods, and present your own unique language. None of these points can be missing. If you have everything, you must still be diligent in everything and always have fresh vitality.
These points are like links that are closely linked to each other. If there is a problem with one link, the entire link will be disconnected, and the other links will not be coherent and will be ineffective.
Xinshui’s figures are full of life. He paints people in the market just like he paints engineering soldiers. He is not just limited to putting what he sees and hears into the paintings. The pictures only describe what he sees and hears, but uses this The subject matter expresses his own life experience and insights, and there are choices. These choices are based on certain understandings and attitudes he has formed in long-term practice, as well as his painting abilities that he has to consider and work hard to explore accordingly. If it is not combined with one's own painting ability, no matter how wonderful life materials are, it will be aborted. Xinshui understands this. In his paintings, the traces of life are not stiff and pale, but are striving to fit in with the painting method he pursues. Although the shape of his characters has yet to be clearly defined, the natural and simple life complex in his paintings is The foundation has been laid for the gradual maturity of the style.
No matter what kind of painting method, it must have a certain meaning and a certain interest. Without a certain interest, the painting will be like that of an anemic patient, and it will be worthless. The shapes in Xinshui's paintings have a simple and naive taste, and we can see a kind of living emotion and passionate pursuit. Although they are not flexible and subtle enough, they have the potential of fresh vitality and exquisite shaping.
The method of pen and ink is a difficult and big problem. Xinshui is obsessed with solving this problem. His freehand brushwork has always been strong and simple, simple and true, although rough things often appear. But Zhang has a dignified and tough atmosphere. This is very important, because the breath in the painting is something that is soaked in the bones, and any external movements, large or small, will always carry its shadow. The atmosphere of being upright, natural, and genuine indicates good fortune in the painting; the atmosphere of pretentiousness, pretentiousness, and eagerness for quick success indicates serious illness or disaster in the painting.
It is a very difficult thing to have your own unique language in a painting. Many painters, even some who have become famous, often suffer from this. Language is a whole thing, something that must be present in any painting, such as life, shape, interest, pen and ink, composition, color, etc., must be implemented in place, must be of pure quality, must be natural and vivid, must be perfect and transparent, in addition , and must have a unique appearance, otherwise it will not be mentioned. Although Xinshui's paintings have not yet reached such a high level, they have a more correct consciousness, a more pragmatic pursuit and a proactive attitude in each of the above individual items and the overall structure. This is valuable and promising. .
Xinshui is young, diligent, and has a better environment to raise him. I believe he can take control of himself and continue to improve and perfect himself in the future. I look forward to his progress. Source: Sina.com
Zhou Jingxin (Professor of Nanjing University of the Arts, doctoral and master's tutor, vice president of Nanjing University of the Arts. Director of the Chinese Artists Association, vice chairman of the Jiangsu Artists Association, and member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference . )
Pursuing truth in paper writing
In the current diverse and ever-changing Chinese painting world, the creation of figure paintings is the most active, and its development trend is also particularly intense. Complex and diverse. This group of young and middle-aged painters who were born in the 1960s and 1970s, have academic backgrounds in colleges and universities, and have received formal modern art education, undoubtedly shoulder the important task of the main force and play a leading role. Shu Xinshui, who currently works in the Department of Traditional Chinese Painting, Academy of Fine Arts, Nanjing University of the Arts, is one of them. The distinctive style and strong personality of his works are very outstanding. Every time you see them, you will have a kind of spiritual shock that will be hard to let go of for a long time. Shu Xinshui's distinctive and strong artistic style and artistic personality can be summarized in one sentence: in terms of expression and creative techniques, form is used to describe spirit, while in terms of artistic taste and aesthetic orientation, truth is used. Seek beauty.
First of all, let’s look at its form of expression and creative techniques, which express the spirit through form. We know that using form to describe spirit and then achieving both form and spirit is a basic principle of Chinese painting. It has been regarded as the golden rule of Chinese painting creation for thousands of years.
Xinshui has studied calligraphy with great concentration, and the interesting short titles and simple landscapes on the pictures often complement each other, making people enjoy endlessly. Huang Binhong said: "Chinese painting techniques are completely derived from calligraphy characters, and cannot be imitated by ordinary people in the world." "If you want to understand painting techniques, you must first study calligraphy." This is not a profound statement, but those who can really understand it are probably those painters who practice their inner martial arts. (Excerpt)
Shang Yong, Doctor of Fine Arts, Critic
October 2012 in Nanjing