The Paintings Of

    Wu Tai

/Xie Zhiliu

  Western painting has been popular in China for some years. Chinese painting is regarded as old- fashioned. There are students of Western painting and students of Chinese painting in China. There are those who study both. In fact, learning the foreign art to complement the traditional painting skills is a way of development. Born in June 1962 in Guangzhou, Wu Tai is the son of famous painter Wu Zi yu. Due to his family background, Wu Tai started scrawling when he was six. At the age of 12, he began practicing the "thin gold script" calligraphy and copying Tang and Song dynasty paintings. In 1985, his works were displayed in an exhibition held by the Foshan City Museum on the paintings and calligraphy of his father, his brother and sister and himself. In February 1987, he was invited by the Chinese University of Hong Kong to do a demonstration of the "thin gold script". Two years later, his copy of Zhang Zhaiduans "Qingming Shanghe Tu" done when he was 17 was exhibited.

   In his teens, Wu Tai had already copied many Tang and Song masterpieces which included the "Palace Life"，"Lady With Fan"， "Journey In Springtime"，"Morning In the Lake and Mountains" and "Early Spring"．He has also copied many Tang dynasty works during his trip to Dunhuang.

  He has travelled extensively to famous mountains like Hua Shan, Lu Shan, Huang Shan and Mount Emei. The magnificent landscapes along his trip from Shaanxi to Dunhuang have broadened his vision and his mind. As for ancient methods, he learned after the styles of Dong Yuan, Fan Kuan, Guo Xi and Yan Wengui. He managed to apply the traditional techniques into his works. On the other hand, he fully appreciates the Early Impressionists manipulation of colours and light, and borrows them for his own use．

Upon a solid foundation of Chinese traditional techniques, Wu Tai blends in modern western

  methods to make his works novel and refreshing. He is a young artist who has a bright future.

   Thoughts On Painting

/Wu Tai

  Traditional painting is suffering a gradual decline in the recent decades because its contents are out of touch with modern life. However, traditional painting has not obstructed the development of Chinese painting. The crucial point lies in how succeeding painters learn and understand about them.

  Truthfulness is most important in art. It means that a painting can give viewers a feeling of simplicity and beauty. It conveys the painters true self and has great artistic appeal．As to the question of "beauty", objects in nature contain beauty in themselves. It depends on peoples vision and points of view. As for the ways of expression, some people are realistic, some prefer twisting and transforming, some people elaborate and some are abstract. Their ultimate goal is to express the beautiful things in the painters mind so that the viewers can share their feelings.

  Artistic creations are produced according to the artists characters. What I have been pursuing is an art of harmony, elegance, purity, smoothness and freedom; an art which can soothe peoples mind.

  In order to paint, one has to learn how to observe surrounding objects first. After one has feelings towards a certain matter, one can use some learned methods to express the matter realistically. Hence techniques and skills is also an important part in painting.

On Chinese ancient painting techniques, I am very fond of the skills of Fan Kuan, Li Tang, Wu Zongyuan, Xu Wei and Shi Tao. I am also fascinated by the colours of the Early Impressionists of the West and the elaborating style of Japanese paintings．They have enlightened me greatly. On the other hand, natural scenery is the sole source for the development of my painting skills. It has given me boundless topics and inspirations. I love to appreciate nature. Nature nourishes immense vitality． Frequent contacts with nature would give one peace and joy, and the influence would be shown in ones brush.