Xie Yongzeng's Road to Art

"Just entertain your heart with poetry and wine, or watch the mountains and rivers, unruly!" This is a summary of artists with personality, but Xie Yongzeng is not. His body exudes a calm and quiet atmosphere, but his paintings show unique temperament and personality in contemporary landscape painting. Xie Yongzeng is lucky because he has a father who is a teacher. At that time, when most people regarded painting as doing nothing, his father, who knew how to teach students in accordance with their aptitude, did not kill Xie Yongzeng's hobby of doodling everywhere, but sent him to Shenxian Cultural Center to learn from his teacher. The first time he entered the county seat, he came into contact with sketches and sketches, and Xie Yongzeng was immediately fascinated by the charm of painting. Looking at the works of well-painted seniors, Xie Yongzeng's heart was full of excitement and desire, and it became his dream to paint as well as seniors. His inner motivation made him stand out from the crowd when he took part in the study for the first time, which also enhanced his self-confidence. Although the training course in the cultural center is very short, it laid the initial painting foundation for Xie Yongzeng.

1977 After resuming the college entrance examination, Xie Yongzeng successfully entered the fine arts major of Hebei Light Industry School and completed the basic training of fine arts. After graduation, he returned to his hometown of Hengshui and was assigned to work in a small factory in the outer suburbs. Xie Yongzeng, who only wanted to paint, felt that she was drifting away from her dream. Just as he was wandering blankly, Hengshui withdrew from the county to build the city. Sun Mugen, then the cultural director of Hengshui City, had an eye for talent and transferred Xie Yongzeng to the cultural center.

The work of the Municipal Cultural Center needs to go to the countryside frequently to help the township cultural stations to carry out their work. The hard work of going to the countryside has become a great pleasure for Xie Yongzeng. Zhao Yan's natural scenery and simple folk customs deeply touched him. Every grass and tree, old trees and old houses are all beautiful scenery that he can't give up. During this period, he drew a lot of sketches and accumulated rich materials, which laid a solid foundation for future creation. During the period of 1993, the China Artists Association held the first national exhibition of China landscape painting, which was the first large-scale review of landscape painting since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Xie Yongzeng's colorful landscape painting "Deer Garden" won the silver prize. Xie Yongzeng is not a conformist, as can be seen from his paintings. It is his specialty to learn from others and achieve mastery through a comprehensive study. He often went to see oil paintings, prints, folk and even photographs, absorbed the advantages of various arts, and gradually explored a set of his own creative techniques. His heavy-colored paintings get rid of the traditional meticulous painting method of first hooking and then dyeing, and take hills, crops, paths and people as elements, showing the profound and simple feeling of the northern countryside to the fullest. Bright colors, exaggerated modeling, delicate traditional meticulous painting, composition and perspective of western paintings, rich sense of rhythm and decoration, and rich flavor of life make Xie Yongzeng's paintings unique and refreshing from the beginning. The vitality and health pursuit conveyed by the picture make him stand out from the contemporary painters quickly.

Luyuan is an important turning point in Xie Yongzeng's artistic creation, and it also makes everyone know Xie Yongzeng. Since then, he has created a large number of works of art, which he called the cornfield series. Excellent works such as North, Clouds in the Horizon and Autumn Ears frequently appear in major exhibitions, impacting people's understanding of meticulous painting and the concept of traditional landscape painting. As a rising artistic star in Ran Ran and Ran Ran, Xie Yongzeng has attracted the attention of the art world. From 65438 to 0999, Xie Yongzeng held his first solo exhibition in Shandong Provincial Art Museum. At this time, his painting style has matured, which also established his position as an excellent young painter.

However, with the maturity of expression techniques, Xie Yongzeng, whose every move began to be concerned by the industry, began to be restless, and he felt that his motivation and direction for progress had been weakened. Meticulous painting is a kind of painting form that is easy to master and control. The painter's inner thoughts can be expressed completely and correctly, everything is under control, and there is no suspense. In his words, because he is so familiar, he can draw with his eyes closed. This form of expression can no longer bear his surging feelings and broad feelings. Xie Yongzeng, who likes to change and innovate, has begun to explore new creative paths. Nevertheless, his colorful landscape painting style has not been replaced so far. 1999, Xie Yongzeng began to transform into ink landscape. The soul of Chinese painting is freehand brushwork, and its essence is to "write" through pen and ink, paying attention to the interest and artistic conception of pen and ink. The process of transformation is painful, and the heavy color technique that is familiar with the chest will naturally and unnaturally lead him to the old road. The habit of using a pen, the habit of using colors, the habit of composition and even the way of thinking are different. Some unpredictable effects caused by ink on raw rice paper often make him unable to grasp the final result.

Despite the hardships, patient Xie Yongzeng never gave up. He always believes in his ability. Hang in there a little longer, everything is changing. Xie Yongzeng's persistence gave him hope. When he was familiar with the changes of ink painting and followed this change to express his inner feelings, he finally entered a new world of his own artistic creation and created a large number of unique ink and wash landscapes. These works are both freehand brushwork and unrestrained, as well as local delicacy and exquisiteness. Put together with his early meticulous works, no one believes that it was written by one person.

Recalling this experience, Xie Yongzeng was deeply touched. He said: In fact, giving up is only one step away from success. Painting is like this, so is doing anything. As long as you keep your faith and stick to it, it will be different. Many people admire his courage to give up his mature painting style and change to ink painting, but there are also many voices that he doesn't understand. In this regard, Xie Yongzeng simply said: "Whether it is heavy color or ink painting, it is only a change in form, based on years of accumulation, and the essence is the same strain."

Xie Yongzeng always thought he was a fool, but it only took him three years to go from heavy color to freehand brushwork. It seems that Xie Yongzeng was born for painting. After he completed a series of changes, the goddess of fortune visited him again. In 2002, he was transferred to Beijing Painting Academy. Known as the Master's Gate, Beijing Painting Academy is the earliest, largest and most powerful national painting academy in China, which has gathered a large number of top experts. Standing in Beijing Painting Academy is the ultimate dream of every painter. Xie Yongzeng, with his talent and strength, became a member of the master's family.

"Landscape painting itself is not easy to do, and pen and ink can be practiced in a few years. However, tolerance can show people's character, and tolerant landscape paintings can give people a rhythmic symphony. Xie Yongzeng has such conditions. He is an outstanding young and middle-aged landscape painter today. " Yang Yanwen, a famous landscape painter, commented. The famous painter Shi Qi also said: "In today's landscape painting world, Yong Zeng's paintings are unique."

Xie Yongzeng was greatly encouraged by the praise of his predecessors, and Xie Yongzeng benefited a lot from chatting with his predecessors. They are experienced and have unique views, and they can often wake up the dreamer with one sentence. Just like that enough paper, it has been upgraded to a higher level when it is broken. In the communication with his predecessors, Xie Yongzeng constantly improved his realm and self-cultivation. Now Xie Yongzeng has also begun to train students. He often tells students that painting needs to be experienced with heart, and only by continuous thinking can we go further on the road of art. Today, Xie Yongzeng is a leader in contemporary landscape painting, but he is still trying to improve his self-cultivation and realm. In his view, if the work pays too much attention to form, it will weaken the emotional power brought by the picture itself, so in his pursuit of the picture, he not only grasps the form, but also pays more attention to the connotation. He did not copy the traditional techniques, but evolved his own unique artistic style according to his own cultivation and temperament. Many landscape painters have not formed their own styles, so the works in many exhibitions we have seen are not impressive, and even anyone's name can be added at will. Personality is the real vitality of the work.

Today, his works have attracted wide attention from all walks of life. His works are favored and sought after by collectors at the auctions of famous domestic auction companies such as Guardian, Zhongmao Shengjia, Hanhai and Poly, and its value potential can be seen. Liu Xingang, a friend of the collection circle, once said to him: "Before becoming famous, it is creation, and after becoming famous, it is called income generation." This sentence made him think a lot. No matter how the market changes, he always insists on a belief that no amount of wealth can keep the painter in history, and only good works can last forever, which is the foundation of the painter's life.