Cu Guoqiang

Author: Cui Guoqiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: During my studies at the Oil Painting Department of Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, Landscape Painting was one of my favorite courses. On one hand, I was interested in the colors of natural light, and on the other, landscape painting differed from long-term classroom assignments, always bringing a fresh sense of creativity to my painting. It was also enjoyable, so each painting session was always relaxed and pleasant. In fact, my true love for oil landscape painting began after graduation when I taught at the of Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts. It was a chance encounter. At that time, the academy was located in Chang'an County, backing onto Shaoling Plateau, with a campus surrounded by dense trees and a tranquil environment. One day, I suddenly noticed a beautiful scene and was immediately inspired to paint. I quickly completed the work. Later, I observed the scenery behind my home and realized that both the near and far views were suitable for painting. Over the next few years, I painted almost everything around Xingguo Temple and the surrounding villages, fields, and plateaus. Unknowingly, oil landscape painting became an indispensable part of my life, and I felt incomplete if I didn’t paint for a few days. In this way, nature seemed to have a magical charm that captured my hand and led me to a rich and pure spiritual homeland of beauty. My artistic journey is like a growing tree, and "Oil Landscape Painting" is its main root, firmly planted in the vast and fertile soil of nature, absorbing water, nutrients, and sunlight to grow healthily.
For a more experienced oil painter, regularly practicing oil landscape painting allows them to continuously gain new insights from nature, enriching their art with fresh nourishment and making their works more vibrant and captivating. This is undoubtedly of great significance. Similarly, it is equally important for beginners. Practicing oil landscape painting helps learners grasp the basic principles of oil color and composition by studying the color changes of objects under natural light. At the same time, it sharpens their ability to organize scenes, discover aesthetic qualities, and complete works effectively when facing the ever-changing natural landscape.
In my opinion, for students who love oil painting and wish to excel in it, mastering oil landscape painting is essential. So, how can one do it well?
1. Start by observing the subject, addressing how to see the rich and varied natural objects. For beginners, it’s advisable to choose relatively simple scenes, dividing the sky, land, and objects into three large color blocks. By comparing these blocks, identify their hue, saturation, and warm-cool relationships. Then, observe the subtle variations within each block, paying attention to the consistency of color and form. Practice repeatedly to develop a good habit of holistic observation.
2. Practice with gray tones or monochromatic colors. We call the tones formed by colors with low saturation and close hues and warm-cool variations "gray tones," while tones created by the warm-cool changes between similar colors are called "monochromatic tones." Intentionally select scenes with similar or analogous colors, such as a group of white and gray houses, and observe the color tendencies and relationships in different directions and positions. By observing and depicting a spring willow forest, we can see the effects of a group of greens that are both similar and distinct. Practicing this topic trains our eyes to be more sensitive to color and cultivates a refined sense of color.
3. Observe and depict the changes in scenes under different lighting conditions. Intentionally choose the same or similar scenes for color sketches under various lighting, such as direct sunlight, side lighting, backlighting, and diffused light on cloudy days. This trains our ability to perceive the specific colors of scenes under different lighting conditions.
4. Expression and brushwork. Our hands apply color to the canvas with brushes, and the entire process of creating an oil landscape painting is a history of brushwork. If a painting is a reflection of the artist’s true emotions, then brushwork is the most important language for expressing those emotions. It gives a work its soul and can be said to be the spirit of the painting. Whether we emphasize the perfection of composition or the subtlety of color changes, the final result must be shown through the traces left by the brushwork. The subject of oil landscape painting is objective natural scenery, which means the language used to compose the painting must come from the scenery itself. That is to say, from composition, color to brushwork expression, there is a specific nature, which is the essence of oil painting. The completion of a painting is the product of the artist’s emotional investment and labor. Oil landscape painting requires the artist to maintain a sense of holism when painting in nature while also being sincere and expressive. Only in this way can perfect and living works be created.
The above are my personal experiences from nearly two decades of practicing and teaching, shared for reference and mutual encouragement among friends who are just beginning to learn oil painting.