“做人老实，画画俏皮” ——李强老师访谈

摘要：问：李老师好！您从艺近四十年了，请问您对山水画有什么独到的见解吗？Q:Nicetomeetyou,Mr.Li.I’velearnedthatyou’vebeendevotedtolandscapepaintingforalmostfourdecades.What,I’mwondering,haske…

问：李老师好！您从艺近四十年了，请问您对山水画有什么独到的见解吗？ Q: Nice to meet you, Mr. Li. I’ve learned that you’ve been devoted to landscape painting for almost four decades. What, I’m wondering, has kept you painting? 李强老师：我这个人挺闷的，喜欢闷头去钻研一件事儿。也许别人觉得是枯燥无味，但对我来说，是一种乐趣。有一句话我印象特别深，就是：做人要老实，画画要俏皮。这话很合我心意。我在画画创作上特喜欢创新。尝试了用各种方法来表现山水。光白描的方式，我就用了多种变化，有直而硬的线条如折带皴，也有圆润流畅，如行云流水的线条。还有用点线面组合的，曾经尝试过一幅《多面的山》。参加江苏省第二届山水画展，还得了银奖。哈哈！我很喜欢闷闷的做这些事儿。我对绘画，不能说热爱得胜过生命——没有命了还怎么画？——但它是我生活中不可缺少的部分。 A: Well, the answer is passion. On most occasions, I may strike people as a rather dull person as I speak little. The truth is I like spending long hours figuring out what and how to paint. For me, painting itself is my passion. There’s a sentence I read somewhere which goes, “Be honest in life, but witty in art.” Well said. Perhaps the best way to preserve passion is to be innovative. Take mountains-and-waters painting for example. I have tried different ways to capture the beauty and essence of mountains and waters. Take line drawing. I’ve experimented with zhedaicun [literally, the folding belt method, featuring light ink strokes to show the shades and texture of rocks and mountains in traditional Chinese landscape painting] in which lines are straight and tough, as well as mellow and flowing lines that are natural and smooth. I also tried to combine dots, lines with areas in a piece called “A Multidimensional Mountain”, which was awarded the silver medal on the Second Landscape Painting Exhibition of Jiangsu Province. You see, I love experimenting with ink and wash. Although I cannot say that I love painting more than life, it is undoubtedly an indispensable part of my life.雨在时时润 2018 纸本 33cm×139cm 问：李老师，您的意思是山水在你眼里，已经不是单纯的那座山、那条水、那个现实中的真境实景？ Q: As an established claborate-style painter, while painting, are you trying to recall from your memory of the actual landscapes like mountains or waters, or depict something that has been treated with sublimation? 李强老师：真境实景的再现，我觉得是画家的大忌。就像你读书，不是为了照搬这个文章，而是为了养你的浩然正气，最终要写出自己的文章，对吧?其实在我的想法里，这都要有个过程，要有个生活的积累，先由看山是山看水是水到看山不是山看水不是水，再提升为看山是山看水是水。这个过程有点复杂，好像带有点哲学意味。又好似佛教里浓厚的禅宗意味。 A: Trying to reproduce the actual landscapes, as I see it, is a deadly foe to a painter. We’ve already had cameras, which can do the job much better and faster. Take writing for example. Merely reading classics and quoting from them cannot make us great writes. It’s true that great writers must have read a lot, but not all who have read extensively can produce good work. Artistic creation, as I see it, is a complicated process that can be compared to the celebrated Zen paradox of viewing the mountains and waters. People’s perceptions of the truths deepen at different phases of enlightenment. Learning to paint is a similar process. It is kind of philosophy and Zen in that it is ineffable and can be best appreciated by those who have had similar experiences and revelations.更有江湖万里心 18x60cm 2015 纸本 问：那这么说您的山水画作品里也含有佛性啦？ Q: Does this mean that you have instilled the spirit of Buddha or Zen into your works of art? 李强老师：这么说，我也赞成，因为人人都有佛性。我太太是虔诚的佛教徒。确实这使我看待生活会从另外一个角度，会使我思考问题的着眼点更高一点，不喜欢争斗，喜欢圆润，平和，清净，美好。 A: Well, yes, in a way. Buddhism teaches us that each individual is endowed with the seed to the ultimate enlightenment. You know, my wife is a devout Buddhist. She has had a huge impact on me. I’ve learned to view life and art from a somehow Buddhist perspective, which values inner serenity by preaching good. While painting, I’m also thinking about conveying positive messages like mellowness, peace, simplicity and beauty onto audiences.山明翠微浅 25 X 50cm 2016 纸本 问：那李老师您能说说您现阶段山水作品是什么表现形式呢？ Q: How would you describe the artistic expression of your landscape paintings at this stage? 李强老师：这个问题提的好。一切事物都是在不停变化的。我永远不会用一个固定的模式，形成一个套路，我会不停的突破自己。心里有话肯定要说出来吗。现阶段，我更喜欢一些立体的元素。把山变成一个个块状的色彩。像音符一样跳跃。泉水，反而像是静止的。我想利用色块的对比。大块暖色系中，小块冷色，给人一种乱云飞渡的迷惘感。使整个画面动起来。好像这颜色是活的。它带你随心所欲的弹奏心中的舞曲。我在作画时是相当愉悦的。 A: I like your expression of “at this stage”. Things are changing all the time. Nor would I stick to one particular form of expression, however well-established it may be. I have been seeking and exploring new possibilities in painting myself all the time as I see it as a major means for my self-expression. Currently, I prefer some solid elements. For example, mountains can take the form of colorful blocks that resemble jumping notes in music, while running spring water may seem still. I’m thinking of livening up the whole picture by highlighting the contrast of bigger color blocks in warm tones and small blocks in cool colors. Imagine we look up in astonishment and awe at the riotous clouds sweeping past swiftly on a breathtaking sunset. Each and every color block, however tiny it is, is breathing and dancing to the music of your heart. How delightful the experience must be! And my pleasures are even greater while composing such a piece of artwork.