Fang Zhaoling1

The Ink Art

Fang Zhaoling

已故畫家方召麐的《西紅柿》滿有趣味,既像宋代禪畫,又彷彿西方的靜物畫。以中國水墨的方法,把蕃茄這種在不常見於中國畫的繪畫對象,畫得飽滿紅潤。旁邊還有幾棵青色辣椒,用墨及顏色都流露方氏的率性自然。《西紅柿》題款寫著「白石老人張老師等前輩喜畫柿子,余獨作西紅柿,以其既為蔬菜亦為水果也。」幾棵青辣椒有著齊白石畫中的蝦那種活潑精緻。也可能想像這位生於民國時代處於歷史轉折點中的女畫家,在傳統養份中對新沖擊的渴望。

方召麐作品中有很不少山水畫,不只是中國山水,還有瑞士雪山及歐洲山嶺。中國自然山水景觀跟人世間善惡有關,深山是賢士隱居之地,文人傾向畫山水景觀,以示對精神面貌的追求,處於山嶺間冀與大自然聯繫達至天人合一。畫中的山水風景、用筆用墨,也反映畫家的內心世界,是外在景觀亦是內心的風景。方召麐的山水風景用墨用色那種深刻,是她內在大氣度的寫照。二十世紀初出生於無錫,一生經歷北洋軍閥割劇及中日抗戰的動盪,在香港及英國留學,丈夫去世後一人帶著八名子女。在這種背景下,方氏的水墨畫用墨用色的力度豪邁,是那種大時代的氣勢。在大時代之下,她仍抱著樂觀幽默去繪畫人生,在豪邁山水景觀中,她畫筆下的人物,是充滿童趣天真。

《舒暢心胸》是方氏以中國水墨的方式,繪畫英國著名的古跡巨石陣(Stonehenge) ,巨石像數道大門,大門敞開胸懷自然廣闊。巨石見證了千百年的物轉星移,方氏用雄渾的筆觸畫石陣,更在其中提字表示心情鬱悶,以大筆畫否以舒暢性情。心緒不寧但畫面仍然是豁然開闊。師從張大千、趙少昂等國畫大師,方氏卻不拘泥於傳統方法,她的《黃河》生動抽繪中國西北飽受風化侵蝕的山貌。畫中有數艘行船,船上的人像在閉目養神,彷彿於風霜中仍能處之泰然。

 

Fang Zhaoling2

Tomatoes, drawn by the late painter Fang Zhaoling, is immensely intriguing. While sharing similarities with zen paintings from Song Dynasty in China, it also bears resemblance to Western still life paintings. Tomatoes can rarely be found in Chinese paintings, but by applying the skills of Chinese ink paintings, Fang had drawn tomatoes which are full, plump and rosy. Beside the tomatoes sit a few green peppers, and the use of ink and colors reveal Fang’s spontaneous and natural style. The inscription of the painting reads, “Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian and others of the older generation love to draw persimmons, but I only draw tomatoes as they are both a vegetable and a fruit.” The few green peppers look as lively and delicate as the shrimps in Qi Baishi’s paintings. We can also imagine her desire for new stimulations and impact outside of the traditional nutrients she had absorbed given she was a female artist who was born in times of turbulence and had lived through the turning point in history.

Among the works of Fang Zhaoling you can find a good many landscape paintings, which are not limited to the depiction of the landscape in China, but also include snow mountains in Switzerland as well as other mountain ranges in Europe. The natural landscape in China can be linked to the good and evil in the human world. Deep in the mountains is where distinguished individuals live in rescue, and scholars prefer to draw landscape in order to demonstrate their pursuit on the mental. In the mountains, they hope to establish links to the great nature, thereby becoming an integral part of them. Both the landscape in the paintings and the strokes and the ink reflect the internal world of the painter. The landscape has both the external and the internal side. The depth with which Fang uses the color and ink in her paintings is a reflection of her generosity of spirit. Born in Wuxi in the early 20th century, she had lived a life through the turbulent times of the Northern warlords and the war of resistance against Japan, and had studied abroad in Hong Kong and in the United Kingdom. She had raised eight children by herself after her husband passed away. Against this background, Fang had created ink paintings showcasing heroic strength in the use of ink and colors, radiating the momentum of the great eras. During the turbulent times, she still drew about life with a sense of humor and optimism. Against the background of the magnificent landscape, the characters under her brush exude immense innocence.

Fang employed the techniques of Chinese ink paintings in Stonehenge, which depicts the famous prehistoric monument in England. The standing stones look like a few enormous gates, being wide open and natural. The enormous stones have borne witness to the passage of time over thousands of years. Fang had used her masterful strokes to paint the stones and had also written inscriptions to express her melancholy. Despite her state of agitation, the painting itself remains clear and open. Even though she had apprenticed under traditional Chinese painting masters such as Zhang Daqian and Chao Shao-An, Fang, however, did not let herself be restricted by the traditional ways. Her work The Yellow River, vividly depicted the mountainous landscape in Northwest China plagued by serious weathering and erosion. In the painting there are a few ships, on which the people seem to have closed their eyes for rest, as though they could remain composed and calm against the wind and frost.

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