Exerting the luck of the gods and gathering the wonders of nature
——Remembering Chen Yuanlong’s flower and bird paintings
Chen Yuanlong’s flower and bird painting exhibition was recently unveiled at the Art Hall of the Art Institute of Tianjin Normal University. The exhibition displays more than 80 pieces of his masterpieces. The excellent flower and bird paintings in different styles create a unique "flower and bird world", making every visitor to the exhibition seem to smell the fragrance of flowers and hear the chirping of birds. Chen Yuanlong is a professor of Chinese painting in the Fine Arts Department of the Art College of Tianjin Normal University and a master's tutor. He is well-known in the painting world for his flower-and-bird paintings. He has received strict professional training. In the 1970s, he was fortunate enough to be personally recruited by the famous flower-and-bird painter Huo Chunyang and admitted to the flower-and-bird painting class of the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts. This was the only flower-and-bird painting class held by the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts since its establishment. . For this class, the famous painter Sun Qifeng adopted a unique teaching philosophy. Chen Yuanlong followed his teacher's instructions with no distractions. After years of hard work, I finally formed a personal identity in flowers and birds. This exhibition displays the artist's paintings from more than 30 years, which are divided into four parts: apprenticeship drafts, landscape sketches, calligraphy, and flower and bird creations, showing the artist's multi-faceted artistic accomplishments.
Chen Yuanlong has taught in colleges and universities for many years and has rich teaching experience. His lesson drafts not only reflect his teacher’s teaching philosophy, but are also summarized, refined, and the diagrams are clear and concise. Chen Yuanlong's flower and bird paintings are good at both fine brushwork and freehand brushwork. He is good at freehand brushwork and uses landscape as the foundation. His flowers and birds are natural and rich. Because he is good at handling the relationship between density, virtuality and reality, and interweaving, the painter can paint both sketches and large paintings. The artistic conception of his sketches is fresh and innocent. In large paintings, the painter is particularly good at old pines, which are ancient and clumsy and majestic. It is not difficult to see momentum or solidity in large paintings, but agility is difficult to see, and painters have both. It can be said that agility can be seen in the momentum and richness, which constitutes the distinctive feature of Chen Yuanlong's large-scale freehand paintings of flowers and birds.
The painter draws on a wide range of freehand subjects. Among various subjects, he is most infatuated with squirrels, and he tries his best to express squirrels in a "magical and wonderful way" - the painter is not satisfied with painting squirrels in a general sense. The reappearance of the "spiritual form" is further sublimated, and the squirrels are anthropomorphized, interesting, innocent and romantic, so the squirrels in his paintings are cuter and more intimate than in their natural state. From "exhausting the subtleties" to "improving the spirit", on the one hand, he expresses the texture and expression of the squirrel in every possible way; on the other hand, he sees the big in the small, erratic, ethereal, leisurely, quiet, hazy, and vast, all kinds of artistic conceptions are reflected in his pen outflow. It can be said that the painter's representation of the squirrel has reached a state of perfection, just as his teacher Mr. Sun Qifeng said: "Use the luck of the gods and gather the wonders of nature."
Chen Yuanlong brings famous calligraphers and painters from Jinmen to Li County to collect works
(Reporter Su Qingjie reported in Hebei) Recently, Chen Yuanlong, professor of Tianjin Normal University, director of the Chinese Painting Art Institute and master's tutor, came to Tianjin Yin Jinshan, professor of the Academy of Fine Arts, Gao Jie, associate professor of the Tianjin Academy of Arts and Crafts, and Zhao Guizhong, vice chairman of the Chinese Ethnic Calligraphers Association and military calligrapher, met in Li County, Hebei Province, the hometown of the famous painter Huang Zhou and the famous writer Liang Bin. Local farmer brothers gathered together happily, presented books and paintings to local calligraphy and painting enthusiasts, and taught calligraphy and painting knowledge, which was supported by local people and government departments. Chen Yuanlong's ancestral home is Lijin, Shandong. Born in Tianjin in 1952, he graduated from Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in 1977 and studied under famous painters Sun Qifeng, Aixinjueluo Puzuo, Wang Maigan, Xia Mingyuan and Huo Chunyang. He has published works such as "Collection of Calligraphy and Paintings of Three Generations of Chen Mei'an", "Collection of Chinese Paintings of Chen Yuanlong", technique books "Learning to Paint and Splendid Future", "Chen Yuanlong Painting Squirrels", etc. Chen Yuanlong is currently: Director, professor, master's tutor of the Institute of Chinese Painting Art of Tianjin Normal University, director of the Chinese Painting Teaching and Research Office, member of Tianjin Artists Association, member of Tianjin Calligraphers Association, director of Tianjin CPPCC Calligraphy and Painting Art Research Association, Tianjin Hexi District Art Vice Chairman of the Artists Association, Honorary President of the Tianjin Normal University Calligraphy and Painting Society, etc.
As well-known professors at well-known universities, Chen Yuanlong, Yin Jinshan, and Gao Jie taught local art lovers the knowledge of Chinese painting using various forms of brushwork and ink painting of landscapes, flowers, and birds. Military calligrapher Zhao Guizhong and local calligraphers from Lixian County Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Zhang Rujun and other colleagues studied calligraphy and learned from each other's strengths. Finally, calligraphers and painters from Tianjin and Hebei jointly created a large-scale traditional Chinese painting "A Crown of Flowers", which attracted the attention of local government departments.
Chen Yuanlong: A painter is not a painter, and art is not a copy of life
News Center-China.com Time: 2009-10-21 Editor: Guo Jin
Famous painter Chen Yuanlong is a guest at China.com
Guest: Professor of the School of Art and Design of Tianjin Normal University, master's tutor, vice chairman of the Hexi District Artists Association, and member of the Hexi District CPPCC Chen Yuanlong Introduction: Chen Yuanlong, he follows the ancients "traveling thousands of miles, "Read thousands of books" is the famous saying. Over the years, I have traveled to famous mountains and rivers to see strange flowers, appreciate exotic grasses, and hear the songs of birds. I have combined the beauty of Emei, the danger of Huangshan, the steepness of Taishan, the pines of Huangshan, the scenery of Lushan, and the beauty of the Lijiang River. Shui Jin left behind his pen, painting and sketching, cultivating his body and mind, making his landscape paintings fresh and simple, forming his own style.
[China.com]: Hello netizens, welcome to this issue of China.com. You must have heard of such long scroll paintings as "Hundred Tigers" and "Hundred Horses". But have you seen "One Hundred Squirrels"? More than ten years ago, there was a painter in Tianjin who became famous because of this painting "Hundred Squirrels". He was the famous painter Chen Yuanlong. Today we are fortunate to have Teacher Chen Yuanlong as our guest. Hello, Teacher Chen.
A painter is not a painter, and art is not a copy of life
[China Net]: Is sketching very important for the creation of calligraphy and painting?
[Chen Yuanlong]: Sketching is very important for an artist’s painting creation, and most of the materials in creation come from sketching. For example, my creation of squirrels. There are big and small squirrels, some with long tails, some with short tails, and various colors. According to statistics, there are as many as 300 species. This time we went to Thailand to give lectures, and I painted a picture of two little squirrels sitting on driftwood in the water. The classmates liked it very much and found it very vivid. This is what I have accumulated in my daily sketching. In the process of my teaching, I often take students to other places to sketch. Sketching can make the things in our paintings more vivid and concrete, and we can better grasp the spirit of what we want to paint. Years of painting and teaching have led me to a conclusion: if you want to paint well, you must pay attention to sketching.
[China Net]: So when we sketch, do we observe, or do we sit there and draw with a brush?
[Chen Yuanlong]: A painter is not a painter. Painting is not just copying life, nor is it as simple as taking a photo. For example, when painting a flower, you don't just sit down and paint it when you see it. If you want to paint this flower, but its leaves are incomplete, then you can add the leaves of that flower to make it show what you want to express in the painting. The beauty. For painting, blind copying cannot lead to development. We must pursue a kind of artistic conception. Chinese painting pays attention to the meaning of strokes and lines. I ask students to do the same. The first thing is to collect information. I have collected many newspapers and magazines, including some library materials. Not only sketching squirrels, but also studying their habits, how they live in the natural environment, whether they live in groups, and what they like to eat. Because squirrels not only eat pine cones but also like to eat some sour fruits. Sometimes I am dealing with some snow scenes and rain scenes, and I draw some dry branches. Considering the effect of pen and ink, it needs to be as dry as wet, so I draw these squirrels, which are just a little red in the green bushes. The squirrels jump, and the interest is in this painting. There are great highlights inside.
[China.com]: As a graduate tutor, how do you educate your students? [Chen Yuanlong]: The students are very hardworking. As a graduate tutor, you cannot educate your students as well as undergraduates and junior college students. Teach stroke by stroke. So I asked them, firstly, to read more books and inspire them more, and secondly, to teach them some knowledge other than painting. What is external skill in painting? I just want them to write more articles about studying Chinese painting. So we not only teach, but also educate people. I also have to teach them to write papers, so I recruit a few graduates in each class, and I have very strict requirements on them.
I told them that I grew up at the same time as you, and I hope you will learn from me, but not be too like me. Only by breaking through the predecessors can you be successful. So when it comes to painting squirrels, I don’t want them to paint like me. I hope they can combine the strengths of various schools, paint from all over the world, and break through the Tianjin school to go nationwide.
Sketch diligently and learn from nature
[China.com]: How did you embark on the road of painting?
[Chen Yuanlong]: Chinese painting is a cultural treasure of our country for five thousand years. Because my father Chen Mei'an is a calligraphy and painting educator, I grew up in this living environment. When I was a child, my father asked me to write calligraphy, recite Tang poems, and draw pictures every day. Later, in 1974, I was admitted to the first flower-and-bird painting class of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts and studied with famous painters Sun Qifeng, Pu Zuo, and Huo Chunyang. In a flash, 30 years passed.
[China.com]: Have you loved painting since you were a child?
[Chen Yuanlong]: I have often observed my father Chen Mei'an painting since I was very young. He has some friends who like painting and often come to my home to discuss some issues about painting. Under their influence , I embarked on the path of painting. When I grew older, especially going to the countryside had a great influence on my painting career. In the countryside, I observed more things that I couldn't see in the city, and I started sketching. Sketching laid a good foundation for my future creations. After this period of accumulation, I applied for the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts and officially embarked on the formal path of studying painting.
[China.com]: What impact did the experience of going to the countryside have on your calligraphy and painting?
[Chen Yuanlong]: Life in rural areas is somewhat different from life in cities. When I went to the countryside, I observed life in rural areas and observed things that I couldn’t see in cities. That kind of Many of the unique scenery in the countryside, like the flower and bird paintings I painted, are what I accumulated during that time. I made full use of this time to sketch and accumulate various materials, which were of great help to my later calligraphy and painting creations.
The best work is always the next one
[China Net]: Why do you have a special liking for squirrels?
[Chen Yuanlong]: It’s a long story, because I am engaged in teaching, so I cannot do without sketching. When we were students, our teachers took us to Mount Tai, Beijing Zoo, Huangshan, and Heze. Not only painting flowers, but also birds. Squirrels are everywhere in Panshan, so we build a cage, catch them, and draw them every day. I remember it was 1993, just after the reform and opening up. I was holding an art exhibition in Shenzhen, and the teacher asked me to draw a long scroll. By chance, I drew a long scroll with 100 little squirrels, which became an instant success in Shenzhen. Not only do the 100 little squirrels have different moods, but they are also divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter, showing their natural scenery and animal emotions, including the changes in pen and ink. Although more than ten years have passed, I still have deep feelings for this painting. . Therefore, why many collectors, news organizations, including CCTV broadcast this painting? Because there were not many painters painting squirrels at that time, and painting 100 squirrels can be said to be a breakthrough.
[China.com]: You are good at painting flowers and birds. Why does your "Chen Yuanlong Painting Collection" involve many landscape paintings?
[Chen Yuanlong]: As an art, whether it is flower-and-bird painting or landscape painting, they are all comprehensive. Just like a doctor, he can only distinguish between internal medicine and surgery. As far as internal medicine is concerned, whether he studies the heart or the stomach, he needs to have a general understanding of internal organs. The same is true for painting. Whether it is flower-and-bird painting or landscape painting, they are all part of Chinese painting and require our careful understanding and exploration. In addition, publishing this collection of paintings is also to show some of my multifaceted talents to the outside world. People know that I paint flower and bird paintings, and now I can also paint landscape paintings. Isn’t it even better? Moreover, as an art teacher, the students he teaches also have their own strengths. In order to enable them to develop better, they must also improve their professional skills and make themselves more comprehensive.
[China.com]: In your creative career over the years, do you have any works that you are most proud of? [Chen Yuanlong]: I was born in 1952. According to our modern parlance, I am middle-aged and need to learn a lot. I must continue to work hard to study business and make myself more comprehensive. There are some satisfactory works now, but I hope to create better works in the future. The best is always the next one.
[China.com]: What is the current status of the development of Chinese flower-and-bird painting?
[Chen Yuanlong]: In the past few years, there were very few students applying for the Chinese flower and bird painting major in our school, only about 22 people a day. The situation has improved this year. Our school aims to recruit 20 people, but 26 people applied. The leaders of the school asked me for my opinion. What I meant was that we all want these 26 people. Since the students have the intention to study, we all want them. The purpose is to develop and promote our Chinese painting and traditional culture. In recent years, not only the number of applicants for our major has increased year by year, but it has also received more and more international attention.