The advanced workshop organized by the Calligraphy School was where Brother Qingzhou and I first met. Later on, I had my postgraduate program in the Academy of Fine Arts, and coincidently, Brother Qingzhou was living near the school at that time. From then on, we began to contact with each other quite often, which made me know more about him. As far as I can see, Qingzhou is a very serious person, treating people with sincerity and hiding no secrets from others. Qingzhou sees everything as black and white, and has a clear-cut stand on what to love and what to hate. He pours his heart on things or people he loves, and makes fun of and cursing angrily to things or people he hates, without exception. Brother Qingzhou always takes in-depth thinking rather than blindly follow others, and he holds on to his ideas and views things out of ordinary perspectives. What’s in special is his attitude towards arts, he believes in the artistic faith of creativity, and hates being the same as others, attaching great importance to the expression of mind. Persistence, diligence and insistence are Brother Qingzhou’s main characteristics; once decided, he would not be distracted and endeavor to do his best to achieve the result. In recent years, he has been obsessed with painting, and staying up all night is not rare for him when concentrating in painting. He once went for sketching in Tibet, leaving his lonely shadow with spirit of exploration at that desolate holy land. Painting and calligraphy attracts Qingzhou just like the way that the religion’s magic power attracting its believers, and it has already been the most important part of his life.

With regards to the art learning, Brother Qingzhou started with calligraphy mainly focusing on Han clerical script. Then, he gave touches to document cursive script, and cursive script style of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, with his own unique and elegant artistic style. As far back as in middle school, he began to inscribe names and signs for local shops, and made a pearwood signet by himself. The writing was in Shang Dynasty big-seal style, and the script was vivid and natural with proper empty and full structure. He earned good reputation for his calligraphy locally, and consequently he pursued further study in Beijing. From then on, his career has become more flourishing and his study has become impressive. He successively went to Calligraphy School and Renmin University for further education in calligraphy. In addition, after graduation, he went back to Renmin University studying bird-and-flower painting in the Bird-Flower Studio led by the great master of modern bird-and-flower painting- Sun Qifeng, for two years. In the learning process, Qingzhou made great efforts in carrying forward the tradition of bird-and-flower painting. By paying extraordinary time and hard working, he made great contribution to this field. Instead of imitating passively, Brother Qingzhou absorbs and carries on the tradition in a proactive way. He thinks calmly and absorbs the elements that can move him. Among his study on tradition, he crushes on no-bone bird-and-flower painting, appreciates Sun Long and Yun Shouping, and is carried away in ink-and-color painting. Meanwhile, he zooms in on modern times, delicately integrating modernity into his works. He finds out the drawing pattern matching his heart and character, among which there is the reflection on traditional Chinese bird-and-flower painting as well as voluntary intervention of modern time as contemporary people. Since then, he has been roaming about in his kingdom of color ink.

The ink-and-color painting of Brother Qingzhou is lofty, dignified and affectionate. Instead of interrupting each other, color and ink complement each other. The colors, though bright, maintain purity and dignity. He sets his foot in the character and mindset of traditional Chinese scholars, grasps the artistic conception and ignores the appearance, incorporates artistic conception and appearance, while cares little about the silhouette of images. The structures of brushes and images can be perfectly combined. The form is novel, painting structure complete and diversified, images clear, bright and vivid. The painting is majestic and grand. There is careful sense and casual sensibility. The paintings are presented in traditional image patterns meanwhile absorbs the make-up of western school of impression, and the technique of expression of abstract expressionism, bestowing the image with tempo and rhythm.

The ink-and-color painting of Brother Qingzhou has already acquired its own style, finding a unique way to integrate with nature, to combine tradition, modernism and ego. He focuses on going deeper in “four directions”. One points to tradition, one modernism, one the breadth of nature, the last one the profundity of self. On top of that, Brother Qingzhou adopts calligraphy in painting. The brush connects each other and the qi flows through. The density is orderly. Density and vitality increases the glamour of the paintings.

Zhang Yonghua

House of Bamboo and Creek, Beijing

Oct 22th, 2012