Selected Ink Wash Paintings by Fan Zeng

Author: Fan Zeng Painted
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: A successful ink wash painting often lies in the fleeting moment of the rabbit's rise and the hawk's fall. The spirit of vigor, the overflowing energy, the perfectly applied brushwork, combined with the artist's spontaneous and divine state of mind when painting on the spot, are all indispensable conditions for ink wash painting. Wang Bo once said that the "Four Beauties" and "Two Difficulties" must coexist. The "Four Beauties" are: fine weather, beautiful scenery, enjoyable company, and pleasant events; the "Two Difficulties" are: a virtuous host and distinguished guests. Li Bai once said, "The warm spring invites me again with misty scenery, and the great universe lends me the means of expression." These are the subjective and objective superior conditions for the harmonization of poetry and prose. Painting, however, is a process of personal mental evolution, unlike the harmonization of poetry and prose. Yet the conditions required for Wang Bo and Li Bai are the same. It is just that the artists' personalities differ, hence their expressions vary. Mr. Bao Shi, when painting ink wash, does not favor observing passively; while Mr. Ku Chen, when painting ink wash, accepts all who come. Both have reached the realm of artistic freedom, transcending the mundane. Such extraordinary masters appear only once or twice in generations. Ink wash figure painting is a rarely explored field, and art history calls for outstanding ink wash figure painters, yet the response is a profound silence.