In the 798 Art District (also named Dashanzi Art District), Beijing, the thriving artist settlement, lies the yeshi zhai (House of Coconut and Stone, literally) of Wang Qingzhou, an artist. On entering his studio, I felt overwhelmed by the roomful of artistic atmosphere. This was the first time I had met Wang. His hospitality, kindness, gentleness, and erudition impressed me indeed. He meditated quietly or spoke frankly every now and then. While I was savoring the displayed art works, our conversation started. In this delightful talk, I deeply felt his persistent pursuit and extraordinary understanding of art. Immersed in his own world of art, he has been creating "ethereal" freehand-style ink and wash paintings.

　　"Detach from real objects and grasp their essence."

　　Using calligraphy, engraving, bird-and-flower painting,oil painting, and mixed materials collectively, Wang has rich artistic practices and accumulations. On his way from traditional ink and wash painting to the modern one, he has inherited the traditional essence and meantime rejected the rigid stylized procedure of ink and wash painting. He fuses inside emotions with outside objects and images, and thus creates an emotional style of freehand style ink and wash painting. His works place an emphasis on using colors for contrast, and drawing lines replete of the lively temperament of traditional ink and wash painting. Wang Yong holds that such a style is hard to be classified, for it's neither traditional ink and wash painting nor Western watercolor painting. It is therefore called freehand style colored painting.

　　Wang Qingzhou's painting has no origin in rigorous techniques and shaping. Instead, his techniques seem natural as non-existent; so is the shaping. This way, an imagery world of tranquility and refinement is built out of romantic brush-craft and unique patterns, arousing our aesthetic appreciation. In our talk, I knew of the decades he spent in practicing calligraphy, reading, exploring linear arts, and contemplating on Chinese cultural spirits. In his later years, he has immersed himself in freehand style colored painting. He breaks away from the conventionally set pattern, and devotes himself to dots, lines, planes, physical and spiritual images, and the physically detached essence. Derived from traditional flower-and-bird painting of literati, his painting embodies the essential elements of literati painting, and inserts the expression and abstraction of modern art language into the observation and representation of nature. From the perspective of the development of modern ink and wash painting, he sets an example of the successful practice of combining tradition with creation.

　　Su Shi, a great calligrapher and painter in the Song Dynasty, put forward the idea: "Detach from real objects, grasp their essence." Wang's painting is exactly in line with the notion-"detach from real objects". In his works, however inhibitedly and intensely the colors are used, rhythmic lines shuttle, knit, connect, and wind, filling the pictures with artistic temperaments, granting them a fluent "melody", reaching an unrestrained and innocent state.

　　"Breathing" Art

　　Many artists are trying to take nature as the theme of their art works. Yet few of them are able to recapture the spiritual characteristics of nature. "The artistic state depends on the grace of painting skills. It the best to paint in an uninhibited manner, and to get rid of the overt techniques typical of a painter." Wang's freehand style ink and wash painting employs a variety of colors and lines to represent the subtle beauty of nature. On this account, his paintings seem as if "breathing".

　　In Wang's paintings, the colors of freehand style intertwine with lines in splashed ink. The intense contrast among colors endows the motionless picture with moving spirituality,and the imagery of nature with vital freshness. Speaking of the artistic representation of nature, Wang maintains that nature is the fountain of his art inspirations. He likes sketching, which seems to be a conversation on arts with nature. Absorbed in it, he believes that the charm of nature is beyond his capacity to paint.

　　Wang is an artist who values sketching. When he is sketching, there are always many onlookers talking to him and even wishing to take a photo. More often than not, he is immersed in the scenery he to which his attention is directed, regardless of all the bothering. His sketching is not a mechanical record of the appearances of natural substances, but rather, it attaches importance to comprehension. Sketching bridges images to imagery in his painting process. He extracts regular patterns out of numerous concrete things, converts them, and presents to us a poetic internalized nature. In depicting natural scenery, he insists "using the brush and colors in an unaffected and compact way." Thus in his paintings, as Shen Kuo put it in Mengxi Bitan (Analects aside Dream Spring), "ink is used sparingly for obscurity when seen from close and for clarity and vividness when seen from afar." Surprisingly, such simple imagery painted in sparingly-used ink brings us unexpected surprise and beauty. Yang Shang's comment on Wang's works has it: "Wang's paintings are profound insights into nature. They are closely connected with nature and surpass the superficial appearance. His brush-craft is romantic; vegetation in his paintings is exuberant and colorful. He has unique understandings of traditional Chinese paintings, and derives a modern style from the ancient. His paintings are both representational and abstract. The beauties of color and imagery boosts the development of Eastern ink art."

　　"For poetic painting and emotional art"

　　Sometimes painting is like poetry, which not only vividly depicts what is hard to depict but also embodies rich connotations. As to Wang's arts works, poetics are everywhere to be found in color, ink, and imagery. Such poetic painting brings poetic visual enjoyment to us. When appreciating his works, we are much surprised to find each of them has a name that reminds us of nature poems, such as "Remote Red Hills Become Close in the Eyes of Beholders", "Rain, the World's Makeup", "Flower Fragrance Flowing into Lovesick Dreams", "Ape Cries and Tears on My Clothes", "Balmy Breeze Lingering at a Brook", just to name a few. These poetic titles demonstrate that Wang's art is brimful of emotions. The sharp contrast between yellowish green and black in his "Spring Hill" portrays the beauty of the hill and springtime exuberance; "Leaves of Glowing Green" makes a visual feast of colors; "Charming Manners" reveals among flowers the exquisite elegance of an Eastern maiden.

　　In his practices of freehand-style ink and wash painting, Wang has gradually created a series of art languages and symbols etched with his personal characteristics. In terms of color and composition, he betters the expression of dynamic thinking. He inspires people to reflect between Heaven and Earth, yin and yang, light and shadow, harmony and contradiction. In his works, we can see ink-painted poems with floating colors, like a perfect combination of mentality and material; spirit echos with substance, expresses the emotional chord between artists and arts, and shows a broader vision, prompting us to meditate further on inner beauties.

　　I have found in our conversation that he has a precise orientation for his artistic creation.He said, "My works perhaps make people feel a sense of plenty simplicity. But nature is sophisticated. There are both overt and covert things.The visible reality is relatively outnumbered. As to simplicity, I often practice it. Painting and reality just seem like a paradox. Painting is the start of risks, and usually the emotional expression of one's heart and experiences.Yet occasionally, it is based on spirit and something else."

　　Wang Qingzhou tempers his language of freehand-style ink and wash painting, in order to emotively express his soul and personal history. This is the deepest impression he has left on me. In such a complex era as today,Wang is free from vanity and anxiety, and persists in being inhibited, poetic, and sincere. The bright colors and rhythms in his paintings reflect the ethereal essence of freehand-style ink and wash painting. Also,his works bear a resemblance to himself-an artist who lives and perceives with an authentic attitude.

　　(By Wu Xiaoyu, executive editor of Comfort magazine)