The order of ancient painting

Many comrades who are enthusiastic about Chinese painting and landscape painting have asked me to talk about learning landscape painting. I want to make a summary from my experience of learning painting. The above is just my personal experience, which is not necessarily correct. Even if there are some merits, it may not be fully applicable to other comrades. In addition, I have been ill recently and have no time to do some research in simple terms. Now I will talk about my immature views from several aspects.

one

Art is a creative work, and it is not easy to do it well. We must have a correct artistic path and take the right path; There is still a lot of hard work to be done. There is no such thing as "being born with knowledge" and "being able to learn without learning", only learning. For people who learn painting, there are differences in talent, but the learning speed is different. Painting itself should be said to be more difficult, because it is not only a science, but also a high skill. Casual is not good. When I was recuperating in a hot spring in Guangdong, a girl asked me if I could learn to draw. I said there was a tree downstairs. Sit down and paint carefully for four hours. Do not get up. The key is not to endure for a few hours, but to test her perseverance.

I am lucky to have the opportunity to be with Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong, Huang, Lin Fengmian and other senior artists in my life. I know them very well, and they have made great achievements. I think their efforts in art are great. "Heaven rewards diligence" is the seal of Qi Baishi and his motto. I learned painting from him during the ten years from 87 to 97. In his eighties, he painted at least seven or eight pictures every morning. Over 90 years old, I still have to draw four or five pictures every day. He was still painting two days before he died. On the other hand, his stamp "I feel a long rope tied to the sun" means that I don't want to let time pass, and I hope I can tie the sun. Huang Yu 1955 died. Before his death, he insisted on painting every day. He was ninety-one years old in May 4th. I once stayed at his house for six days and watched him draw eight pictures in one night. Xu Beihong is also very diligent, and often encourages young people with the words "Never leave your fist and never leave your mouth". When I was in Hangzhou, I had tea with Gai Jiaotian in a teahouse. At that time, he was over 70 years old, wearing a gown and covering his legs. I found him putting one foot on the crossbar of the square table. It turned out that he was practicing the hard work of "stretching muscles and pulling bones". He never forgets to practice basic skills. Shang, a famous Vu Thang Peking Opera veteran, said to me: When we perform on the stage, others look relaxed and happy. I don't know how much blood and sweat we shed off stage. In fact, I am like a monk, sacrificing a lot of rest and entertainment. Huang Zhou, a contemporary painter, is very diligent in painting. It is said that he paints more than twenty knives of rice paper a year. When Wu Guanzhong paints, he can sit down and continue painting for ten hours without getting up, just eating some dry food and then painting. This spirit of hard work is very important. Basic skills are an artist's underground work and should be practiced every day. What they show is only the works in the exhibition and the performances on the stage, and the audience often don't know how hard the author works. Mr. Lu Xun said it well. I sit at my desk and write, and rest and read on the cane chair. "Where there is a genius, I spend all my coffee time at work." ("The Complete Works of Lu Xun", Volume 20, Page 663, "The Postscript of the Complete Works of Lu Xun") Indeed, Qian Qian has never studied art, and there are not many real achievements. The rejection rate of studying literature and art is quite high. Maybe they will become short writers and artists, and it is difficult to succeed casually. This time in Huangshan, I saw two young people sketching, chatting while painting, and muttering endlessly. After painting, I didn't finish my half-hearted words. The most fundamental key to painting is the correct road and strong perseverance. There are no exceptions for accomplished artists at all times and in all countries. You can't learn well by devoting yourself wholeheartedly, let alone being half-hearted! In the fifties, I went out to sketch several times, carrying heavy painting tools and traveling tens of thousands of miles every day. Trying to create a new landscape painting with real life flavor and reflecting the spirit of the socialist era has passed 70 years before you know it. I summed it up and carved a seal of "70 years ago, knowing ourselves and ourselves, ignorant", which means that the world is vast, everything is broad, the truth is profound, insignificant and really ignorant.

There are still two sentences in my 70-year summary: "Do basic skills all my life"; Make a summary every day.

Painting must be based on the needs of creation and practice basic skills for a lifetime. Once I drew a tree in Xiangshan, and a young man watched me draw it carefully. He said that the old uncle's hair is white and he is still practicing basic skills! I said I was practicing my basic skills because I didn't learn well. There is no end to objective things and no end to learning. I asked Comrade Tang Yun to carve a seal called "White-haired Male Student". I think I am still a primary school student studying Chinese painting.

A young author asked me why it is difficult to improve my study. I think there are more than one reason, but the basic skills are not solid and the foundation is not deep, which often hinders the growth of things.

Doing a good job in basic skills, studying hard and practicing hard is easier said than done. It's really hard to do, and it's even harder to do it all your life. The agent of the Gang of Four in the art world is most opposed to doing basic skills, saying that as long as you draw and sketch in your life, you can do a good job in creation. This is really a wonderful story. In fact, where do they really admire life? In my opinion, they are trying to destroy art.

We demand that art truly reflect the life in the socialist era, and we must follow the special laws of art to develop and improve our art. Here, we should put the practice of establishing the proletarian world outlook and deepening the three revolutionary struggles in the first place; To master the creative method of combining revolutionary realism with revolutionary romanticism, we should reflect reality with image thinking, and at the same time do a good job in basic skills under the correct guidance.

Basic skills sum up the basic needs of creation and serve creation completely. If you don't create, you don't need basic skills, just like if you don't build a house, you don't need to lay a foundation. The Gang of Four's so-called "opposing creation with basic skills" is stupid and ignorant if it is not fabricated and distorted and charges are imposed. There is also a saying that "those with good basic skills may not be able to create". The implication is that the basic skills are the fundamental reason why creation can't work. In fact, you can't create because you haven't worked hard on creation. Basic skills are only a basic link in creation, and there are many other jobs to be done. It is difficult to create if you lack the foundation of life and cultivation in all aspects. Can you blame basic skills? This view of denying the role of basic skills reminds me of a joke: if a person is hungry, he is not satisfied with eating a sesame seed cake first. Eating another steamed bread is not enough. Eat another steamed stuffed bun and I'll be full. He said: I knew that sesame seeds and steamed bread were useless. I wish I had a steamed bread at the beginning. In the relationship between basic skills and creation, some people are also so shallow that they always want to take shortcuts and "do it in one battle."

Basic skills seem to be different from creation, but they are the concentrated expression of some of the most basic laws and rules needed for creation; It is the standardization of artistic language refined by artists of past dynasties in their long-term artistic practice. For example, singers practice pronunciation and articulation, and martial arts and dancers practice waist and leg kung fu, which seems to be different from stage performances. However, singers can't sing clearly if they don't work hard on pronunciation and articulation, and martial arts and dancers can't act accurately and forcefully if they don't work hard on their waist and legs. The basic skills determine the level of creativity development.

Before Gai Jiaotian died, he asked Huang Man Hong Bin Sr. to write "Learn to grow old" and engrave it on his tombstone. He said that these three words should be used to educate the later youth. In his later years, he still practiced basic skills in the yard every day, regardless of cold and heat. It is no accident that his Song Wu and other plays are full of vitality, accuracy and power. They are really as static as Mount Tai and as dynamic as Youlong, and are known as "amazing masterpieces". He can achieve this state, in addition to extensive practice in all aspects, an indispensable and important condition is strict requirements and hard practice of basic skills every day. Without basic skills, artistic creation is a rootless tree and passive water. There is also a story about killing tigers: It is said that there is a village where tigers are seriously affected. The villagers are going to prepare a banquet and invite experts from other villages to kill pests. As a result, a hunchbacked old man and a child were invited, and the villagers were greatly disappointed. The old man observed everyone's expressions and went to find the tiger without taking a seat. The old man let the children go ahead. When walking near the tiger's den, the child imitated the voice of the cubs, and the tiger heard the voice. The old man had an axe in his hand and carried it on his shoulder. The tiger swooped down and the old man's head tilted slightly. The hungry tiger fell to the ground and died, which surprised everyone. Looking carefully, the evil tiger split a straight line from the throat to the chest and abdomen, hitting the key. At this time, the old people sat down unhurriedly, and the tables were still warm. The old man told everyone the reason: his father and grandfather were both injured by tigers, and he was told when his father died. The main reason for the tiger's injury is that he jumped forward, because he made up his mind to practice the basic skills of dealing with tigers and practiced shaking the brush in front of his eyes without blinking. Arm strength can climb nine people without moving, and eventually become a tiger killer. This story inspires us to understand the relationship between "basic skills" and "use". We should have the determination and perseverance to practice basic skills all our lives, instead of waiting until it is urgently needed. It is impossible to dig a well when we are thirsty.

What I said above is the importance of doing basic skills all my life. Let me repeat: "Make a summary every day".

Summarize every day. Summarize what? Mainly to sum up their own shortcomings. There are two aspects of human progress; One is to develop one's strengths, and the other is to correct one's weaknesses. This is a pair of contradictions, and correcting shortcomings is the main aspect of contradictions. Because the advantages can't run away, the disadvantages are obstacles and obstacles in progress. The disadvantage is that it feels the most difficult to draw and the worst place to draw. Just like walking, you have to stay in that place forever and don't go forward with your hind feet. If you can't draw a tree well, you should devote yourself to drawing it. When the tree is painted, it is a step forward. A good learner is someone who knows and corrects shortcomings. The development of objective things is always unbalanced, backward points always exist, and things are always correcting backward points and moving forward step by step. I think my painting has many shortcomings, and every time I overcome one shortcoming and take a step forward, I have to make efforts. When I draw, I always keep a notebook or a piece of paper beside me. If I feel anything, I will write down a few words, which is a constant summary. It is very important to make a summary every day. My summary is all drawn from practice. There is no theory without practice, there is no theory without practice summary, and there is no systematic and complete theory without summary and careful thinking. Only by improving practical experience to theory can we consolidate and develop knowledge and skills and reduce blindness. This is what Chairman Mao said, the process from perceptual knowledge to rational knowledge.

If you don't sum up and don't know your own shortcomings, you will be stagnant and unable to make progress. This is stupid. Dong Qichang can't draw landscapes and people, and neither can Ni Yunlin. Dong Qichang forgave himself and said, "Clouds cover all the ugliness." Some people have painted landscapes all their lives, but they can't draw good scenery. In fact, as long as we are good at summing up, tackling key problems and overcoming shortcomings, "difficult" can be transformed into "easy". I can't draw small figures, so I will spend a month drawing small figures, but I can't draw them in two months, two months and three months ... I can draw little people all year round, and I can draw ten thousand little people every year. Can I still draw badly? A year seems long, but it is still short compared with a lifetime. The mountains are not well drawn, and the mountains and trees are well drawn, but the trees can be drawn well in the end. I also have a seal "all difficulties", which means that difficulties are absolute, easy to be relative and easy to solve. As the saying goes, "iron shoes can't find a place to step on, and you can get them without effort." "effortless" comes from "stepping on iron shoes" Without the former, there is no latter. "Nothing is impossible to a willing mind", and nothing can't be overcome.