After the death of its founders Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng, and Chen Shuren of the famous Lingnan School of Painting at home and abroad, Guan Shanyue, Li Xiongcai, Zhao Shao’ang, Yang Shanshen and other disciples of Ergao continued to hold high the banner of the Lingnan School of Painting. , influenced the entire South China painting world, but unfortunately they have passed away one after another.
Liu Chuncao has been influenced by Gui Nanping's calligraphy and bone technique since he was a child, and he also learned the true biography of his teacher Chen Shuren. Coupled with his understanding of taking over the world with one stroke, his painting style Different from Guan Shanyue and Li Xiongcai, the main disciples of Ergao, he is unique among the Lingnan School of Painting.
Integrating calligraphy into painting is majestic and vigorous
Liu Chuncao once said in the preface to a collection of paintings: "When I was a boy, I was in the period of study. I printed grids as books, wrote scenes and captured the truth, and diligently recited Tang poetry. Song Ci, the ink rhyme at the bottom of the brush is used to eliminate the vulgarity. "Liu Chuncao deeply understands the origin of calligraphy and painting, and the true meaning of using calligraphy to paint. His paintings do not focus on inheriting the heavy rendering and mixing of water and powder techniques of the Lingnan School, but focus on using water and powder. The cultural taste of seeking momentum in the composition, bringing out the charm in the brush strokes, and complementing the brush and ink, whether it is the center, side, side, or reverse, can be seen through the back of the paper. He is the pioneer among the Lingnan School painters who consciously return to the tradition of brush and ink. His works, such as the landscape painting "Pine Valley Singing Spring" and the flower-and-bird painting "One Blow for a Thousand Miles", have strong brushstrokes, concise summaries, arbitrary vertical and horizontal strokes, and brilliant ink, which show his mastery. No wonder the Executive Vice Chairman of the China Artists Association commented in the "Collection of Liu Chuncao's Paintings": "Professor Liu Chuncao, his rich and exquisite pen and ink works are rare in the Lingnan painting department."
The elderly Liu The old man told the author that he repeatedly studied the ax chop method of Ma Yuan and Xia Gui in the Southern Song Dynasty and the splash-ink method of Wang Qia in the Tang Dynasty, trying to make his works more vivid and bold, and create another page for the Lingnan School of Painting.
The bone method uses lines as shapes
Mr. Chen Shuren once said: "Composition is the most important part of painting, which belongs to the aspect of formal beauty, the organization of lines, the coordination of shapes, the shades of It's just a distinction." Liu Chuncao would learn the "Chen Lessons" from his master every morning, mastering the strength, weight, density, movement and dryness of the brush lines. His paintings are the same as those of his master. , most of them use lines as the skeleton of the shape, with less rubbing, giving full play to the expression of the lines, sometimes mixed with loose and sharp brushes to enhance the vicissitudes and richness of the picture. His work "By the Nile", which won Korea's "Asia Art Award", was painted with unrestrained and unrestrained lines, with a strong sense of writing; his new works "Uncle Gao Feng", "Blooming Picture", etc., whether they are thin lines or Double hooks or bold boneless ones bring the tension of the lines to the extreme. In terms of color, whether it is thick red cotton or light crimson green bamboo, the threads can be harmonious and harmonious. unified.
Creation is a teacher-like object to express feelings
Mr. Chen Shuren believes: "Sketching from life is the basis of painting. If you can sketch from life, then there will be things in the painting." He has practiced "reading thousands of books and writing" throughout his life. The artistic life of "Ten Thousand Miles of Road". Liu Chuncao learned from his master. He said this in the preface to the album: "It has been more than ten years since I moved to North Borneo and built a Chinese school on the mountain. My children have become talented and I have no worries. So I took a stroke to travel around the world's famous mountains and rivers, and visited exhibitions and lectures. , going through the second stage of middle age. "In his middle age, he traveled to most of the world, traveling, giving lectures, collecting styles, and creating. The customs of various places and the thousands of hills and valleys of nature were all transformed into his pen. Colored ink image. He painted "American Grand Canyon", "Egyptian Pyramids", "Niagara Falls", "Malta Island in the Mediterranean", "Malaysian Sacred Mountain", "Huangshan Tiandu Peak", etc. with Chinese ink painting. In his later years, he returned to China and settled down. Painting of hometown and nostalgia. The grand masterpiece "The Greatest Peak in the World", which was officially collected by the Great Hall of the People in June 2006, is his new work after experiencing life on Mount Everest in the Himalayas. This painting is majestic and layered, and has an aura of awe and awe of the Chinese nation.
The complex of a child returning to China
With a paintbrush and two sleeves of breeze, standing on a three-foot podium, spreading Chinese culture to the world is a portrayal of Professor Liu Chuncao's life; fallen leaves return to their roots, loving China, returning Lingnan is the long-cherished wish of Liu Chuncao, a famous overseas painter of the Lingnan School. The author saw a couplet in front of the door of the Zhuyuan where he lived: "Birds love each other, pines and bamboos are my home." It shows the temperament of a scholar and elegant scholar. I can't help but think of the poems of his mentor Chen Shuren: "Where the Western Mountains are not included in poetry, the rain and clear weather The weather is windy and snowy, and I have no other wish in life than to be a painter in the south of the Yangtze River."
Liu Chuncao often said to people: "I have been on many boats in my life, but I have never been on a pirate ship like fame and fortune. "He is indifferent to fame and wealth, loves China, and pays attention to the development of the Lingnan School of Painting. No wonder Chen Yongqiang, director of the Guangzhou Lingnan Painting School Memorial Hall, said this in the article "Xinxin Chuncao dyes the spring sun - a tribute to Mr. Chuncao": "Art creation is an expression of personality, and style establishes personality connotation. For example, Lao Tzu said that water is good for all things. Don’t fight, the low point is the future.” In April 2007, Liu Chuncao held a charity exhibition to raise education funds for the Macao Working Children School, and raised 3.1 million yuan, all of which was donated to the school, which shows his mastery.
His works are not of much value, but now he is an old man and still has a breath of fresh air; he has lived abroad for 50 years, defying the anti-Chinese powers, and went through all kinds of hardships to promote Chinese culture; he has gained unlimited fame abroad. At the age of seventy, he resolutely returned to his hometown alone...