The reason why Ma Haifang's paintings are popular is nothing else, because his paintings have flavor. What is that smell? To put it bluntly, it is the taste of Erguotou wine, and the bean juice is the taste of inby's son's take-away pickles, the smell of twisting his neck and stretching his legs to pull the erhu, and the smell of holding a birdcage for four steps and swinging his arm. Yes, that's the smell! His paintings are true, vivid, emotional, orderly and interesting. So his paintings are durable, and the more you look at them, the more interesting they become.
Contemporary painters paint many landscapes, flowers, birds, fish and insects, but few people paint them, let alone people with flavor. It's not easy to draw a picture of Ma Haifang today. As the old saying goes, the cat has a cat path and the mouse has a mouse path. Radish and cabbage have their own tastes.
Ma Haifang has been focusing on figure painting in the old Beijing style for many years. He has been playing with this pen for at least 40 years since he drew a picture book on the kang in open-backed pants. Ma Haifang embarked on a road of struggle unimaginable to ordinary people. Over the years, his diligence and hard work are well-known among famous artists in the painting world.
Ma Haifang was born in the Department of Chinese Painting of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, but he never regarded it as the "capital". The Central Academy of Fine Arts is famous, but even the best crops will grow grass. He believes in his efforts the day after tomorrow. I have been in contact with Ma Haifang for more than 20 years. From the day I met him, I knew that his sketches were inseparable. The elder master said: "figure painting can't be a great event without the skills of sketching." Now there are few painters in China who take sketch seriously like him.
Ma Haifang painted everywhere he went along the road of Ye and Huangzhou. His eyes are always idle, aiming at all beings every minute. The differences are as follows: Master Ye takes sketch as the starting point, sensitively captures the dancing image in motion, and gives full play to the formal beauty of lines; Master Huang, on the other hand, uses a kind of "potential" to move the pen and ink in the agility of the line, pursuing both form and spirit; Ma Haifang, on the other hand, stands on the "shoulders" of the master, and walks between lines, flowers and colors with pen and ink, creating a charm with pen, which makes the shape and spirit of the characters have a fascinating charm. At this point, Jiang's paintings are quite a bit of a legacy.
Ma Haifang's value lies in his years of hard work and perseverance. When he was still studying in college, he set his sights on Beijing flavor. For so many years, he never changed his mind. No matter how dazzling the western food was, no matter how tempting the Manchu banquet was, he just kept chopsticks and decided to eat bean juice, Erguotou, zhajiang noodles and sesame cakes. No wonder his Beijing-style figure paintings are becoming more and more authentic, because he eats Beijing-style thoroughly. That smell is not only distributed in his paintings, but also integrated into the blood of his artistic creation.
1990, Ma Haifang won the first prize of the first national genre painting competition. Then, his group painting "Old Beijing Figures" won the first prize in the first national cultural customs exhibition. The following year, his "Old Tianqiao Man" won the first prize in the Oriental Painting and Calligraphy Art Grand Prix of China Art Museum. Casual map won the gold medal in the International China Painting and Calligraphy Art Grand Prix. In two or three years, Ma Haifang's paintings won prizes in succession. You know, he just entered the painting world. Just one head makes people shine at the moment, which can be said to be extraordinary. If 15 years ago, Ma Haifang's Beijing-style figure painting was not enough in form and spirit and taste, then the taste of his paintings was already outrageous. It's delicious! Ma Haifang likes to hear people comment on his paintings in this way, which is what he wants.
Looking at Ma Haifang's Beijing-style paintings, the visual composition is more grand, not only the characters' expressions are more vivid, but also the costumes, utensils and backgrounds are more delicate. The so-called verve comes from the understanding of the characters and scenes painted. This artistic mastery is just right, and Ma Haifang did it in this respect. In order to reproduce the amorous feelings and highlight the cultural meaning, he has a long description in each painting, in addition to the spare chapters and inscriptions full of Beijing flavor. His description is actually calligraphy. Ma Haifang has been the editor-in-chief of China Painting and Calligraphy Magazine for many years, and once sat at the opposite table with Mr. Shen Peng. I am deeply influenced by Shen Lao in calligraphy, and the idle chapters are more interesting. "Hurry to work", "Join in the fun", "Full of flavor", "Casual" and "Happy"-what do you think you have seen this title in? Vulgar? Ah, that's what Ma Haifang wants.
Vulgar is elegant. Ma Haifang's paintings look vulgar, but the more you feel them, the more elegant you feel. This shows the good will of Ma Haifang. Foreigners like Malik Fang's paintings because they like the Beijing flavor outside his paintings. Ma Haifang is a native of Beijing. He grew up eating wowotou, so he has a thorough understanding of Beijing flavor, and his characters are both physical and mental. He is unique in Beijing painting. Many people want to imitate his paintings, but they can't find that feeling. His paintings are really difficult to imitate, because the imitated paintings can only see his flesh and blood, but not his bones, and they can't stand the touch.
In the first year, Ma Haifang changed from a buzz cut to a bald head. Bald head, coarse coat, or buckle, a pair of "thousand layers" under your feet, you smell. Only people with taste can draw pictures with taste, don't you think?