Oil painting direct method

Author: Weng Danxian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: Direct painting is a method that uses oil painting materials to directly express form and color. The term "direct" refers to the classical technique of layering and "doing" with a certain expected outcome. It emphasizes the direct correspondence and relevance between expression and "seeing." It encompasses both the direct phenomenon of a single, spontaneous brushstroke and the "accumulation" effect achieved by shaping oil painting materials on an existing base. It includes both realistic techniques that convey form and color within a single stroke and the transformative language of modern painting that begins with juxtaposed brushwork. Due to this direct relationship between eye and hand in direct painting, it reveals the inherent essence of mutual dependence and coexistence between humans and objects, making oil painting direct techniques a primary expressive language in modern and contemporary oil painting history and related art history. As Lao Weng once said, "The heaven of an artist's creation is inherently the same as the eternal secular aesthetic harmony and breakthrough, forming the profound, magnificent, and humanistic Western classical oil painting history full of wisdom and spirit." To analyze direct painting, one cannot avoid touching upon the artist's personal world and the spiritual realm of a specific era. We see many technical books that discuss techniques in isolation from the spiritual core, while others focus on theories without providing insightful analyses of techniques or clear, concise revelations. This is the challenge in writing such technical books. Lao Weng's approach in this book is not to get entangled in the details of technical typology but to guide readers dynamically into the traditional realm of painting through copying and analyzing masterpieces, leading them to stroll through the long corridor of art history and savor the sweetness of material and technical language. More than a technical introduction, this book is a report on the experience of copying and a form of dialogue between Lao Weng and the masters in another way. Simulation is a process, and tracing tradition is the true destination. Thus, the original copy becomes an object facing "what it is," and through the restoration of the evolution of techniques, we dynamically approach the world of the masters—the techniques and the spiritual world behind them. In the chapter "Appreciation of Masterpieces by Oil Painting Masters," the analysis of techniques has delved into the personal spiritual realms of the artists. In fact, what Lao Weng discusses in this book is a deeper method of technical analysis than general technical introductions—a path that allows us to dynamically grasp and comprehend. "Among all the copies, Shchedrovsky's Portrait of a Young Man still represents the highest difficulty in terms of Shu-style techniques." Lao Weng told me this. As a disciple of Master Quan in the Shu school, he spoke with a sense of mystery and sanctity, a determined and somewhat arrogant conviction.
Author Bio: Weng Danxian, a native of Fuzhou, was born in 1954. In 1978, he was admitted to the Oil Painting Department of the China Academy of Art. In 1982, he was assigned to teach at the Art Department of Fujian Normal University. In 1985, he entered the China Academy of Art for graduate studies in oil painting, studying under Master Quan Shanshi. In 1988, he obtained his master's degree and began teaching at the China Academy of Art. Currently, he is a professor and master's supervisor in the Oil Painting Department of the China Academy of Art, a member of the China Artists Association, and former vice principal of the Affiliated High School of the China Academy of Art. His oil paintings have participated in the 7th National Art Exhibition and the 2nd National Sports Art Exhibition. He won the bronze award in the 9th National Art Exhibition and the Excellence Award in the "China Revolutionary History Painting Exhibition," as well as the bronze award in the First China Oil Painting Competition. In 1992, he was invited to Japan for academic exchange. Starting in 1993, he began creating a series of oil paintings of Hui'an women and held his first solo exhibition at the Schoeni Gallery in Hong Kong. He participated in international art events such as "ArtAsia'93," "ArtAsia'94," and "ArtAsia'96." His oil paintings have been included in multiple auctions of contemporary Chinese oil paintings at Christie's Hong Kong. In 1995, he traveled to France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Italy for research and academic exchange. He held the "European Sketching Exhibition" in Bologna, Italy, and participated in the "Chinese Oil Painting—from Realism to Postmodernism" exhibition in Belgium. In 1996, he held his second solo exhibition at the Schoeni Gallery in Hong Kong and published his second personal art book. His monograph Oil Painting Landscapes was published by the China Academy of Art Press.