On Life Painting As A Vital Approach To The Creative Development Of Flower-and-bird Painting In The Sketching-idea Manner: A Personal Reflection

This essay attempts to explore the challenges facing the contemporary flower-and-bird painting in the sketching-ideas manner, and to offer a possible solution out of this dilemma. As the contemporary flower-and-bird painting is caged by conventional patterns, style, and subject matter, it has lost the quintessence of Chinese painting, thus seriously impeding its creative development. Based on that, the feeling and inspiration that the process of life painting is key to the originality of the development of flower-and-bird painting occurs to the author's mind during his long-time experiencing life painting in open country, especially in that in South China. Therefore, the author argues that life painting is a vital approach to the creative development of flower-and-bird painting in the sketching-idea manner and the process of life painting identifies with the creative, explorative process of bird-and-flower painting which does not merely copy the conventional mode of thinking and painting. Instead, it endeavors to invest it with a contemporary spirit and concern, while rooting itself in the cultural essence of traditional Chinese painting. The sublimation and crystallization of the tradition is thus attained, aided by a sense of natural enlightenment, and to the effect that the tradition is not merely inherited, but delightfully enriched. In the afterword of the essay, the author maintains that tradition is the very basis of life painting and the inspired painting, and that life painting is a powerful approach to understand tradition and to nurture the inspired painting, while the inspired painting remains the purpose of tradition inheriting and life painting. In short, the three steps of tradition, life painting and the inspired painting stand out as an essential approach for the development and flourishing of flower-and- bird painting. Besides, it can also be an important breakthrough and a hopeful path for the development and enrichment of flower-and-bird painting in more abstract sketching-idea manner.