For 5 years, 15 hours a day, the 60-year-old painter Wang Wei used a fountain pen to sketch out the complete "Long Scroll of the Upper Seaside River". From February 3 to March 26, this huge 30-meter-long and 1.2-meter-high pen painting will be unveiled at the "Painting Shanghai - Shanghai Style Painting Exhibition in Comics" at SAIC Shanghai Culture Square. Wang Weimin said: "As a person who can paint, I want to use this brush to record the imprint of urban development for my hometown and retain roots for people living in this city." ”
Pictured: Wang Weimin and "The Long Scroll of the Upper Seaside River" Photo by Wu Xuying, reporter of Xinmin Evening News (the same below)
original intention
Wang Weimin's love of painting was passed down from his father. Born in 1962 into a working-class family, his father's favorite in his spare time was scribbling on paper with a fountain pen. When Wang Weimin was in elementary school, he developed a strong interest in pen drawing, and his father became his enlightenment teacher, encouraging him to improve his painting skills. "At that time, my family was not rich, so I bought that kind of paper according to the pound, copied it against the 'Little Man Book', and later created some comic strips myself." During his university years, Wang Weimin studied oil painting with Fang Shicong, a famous oil painting artist in France, and after graduation, he taught at Tongji University, Donghua University and other universities. It was not until 2000 that he finally picked up the pen again and returned to the creation of pen drawings. "Pen painting is my original love for painting, and it is also a dream since I was a child."
In the beginning, Wang Weimin painted works of ordinary scale. With the encouragement of his teachers and family, he plucked up the courage to "draw something that no one else had ever painted." The first time he challenged the long scroll, Wang Weimin was somewhat unsure of his creative style and perspective proportions. "In 5 years, I have drawn a total of 4 versions of the "Long Scroll of the Upper Seaside River", from the original 10-meter-long scroll to the current 30-meter version."
Pictured: Part of the "Long Scroll of the Upper Seaside River"
He introduced that long volumes require more ability for creators to grasp space. Because the banks of the Huangpu River are not straight and extended, to lay out the beauty of the riverside on a straight scroll, it is necessary to constantly "fine-tune" the perspective.
During the creation period, Wang Weimin had to go to Binjiang for a walk almost every week, taking photos from different angles and leaving thousands of photos. In addition, Wang Weimin's studio could only unfold the long scroll less than two meters, so he had to roll up the drawing paper and cut it one by one. "The problem with this is that I have never been able to see the whole, I can only rely on imagination." Therefore, when the third edition was drawn, Wang Weimin specially found a friend to borrow it to the multi-functional hall on the 7th floor of Shanghai Book City, unfolded the picture in its entirety, and spent 7 days to make a major overhaul of the draft.
Compared with oil painting creation, the difficulty of pen painting is that it cannot be laid out in a large area, and all the relationship between light and shade can only be expressed by the density of the lines, which is really "outlined by stroke". "The first version of the colored pen I used, later changed to pure black, also to highlight this texture." Wang Weimin said.
Pictured: Wang Weimin introduces his pen drawings
Nostalgia
Whether it is the form of painting or the work of the pen, Wang Weimin, a native of Shanghai, always has a love for his hometown in his bones. When creating the long scroll, Wang Weimin first determined that he wanted to "paint for Shanghai". The choice to use pen painting to present is also because this form of painting has a strong Style of Haipai in his eyes, "The pen is originally an imported product, which can represent the Haipai culture of Haipai that is full of rivers and rivers." The original intention of painting the riverside is also because "the Huangpu River, Suzhou River, this 'one river and one river' is the root and source of the city." If I want to paint Shanghai, I have to paint this first." Wang Weimin's binjiang, not only has a beautiful architecture, but also passers-by who are riding, running, and drinking coffee, like a picture of the riverside life of Shanghai citizens, "just like the "Qingming River Map", I hid more than a hundred characters in the long scroll, painting not only the scene, but also the life and story. After the completion of the long scroll, he also specially printed a miniature version of the cultural and creative products, marking the long scroll with the Chinese and English names of each building as a creative souvenir for the "Architecture Readable" project. "I hope that new and old Shanghainese can really understand the city, starting from binjiang." However, I feel that this time it is not perfect enough, and the next time I reprint it, I will add a two-dimensional code and attach the history and story of each building. ”
Pictured: A character in the "Long Scroll of the Upper Seaside River"
After painting "One River", Wang Weimin began to paint "One River" again. With the experience of creating "The Long Scroll of the Upper Seaside River", he is ready to complete the creation of the 35-meter "Suzhou Creek Long Scroll" in two years. Wang Weimin introduced: "Suzhou Creek has 33 bridges, 18 bays, countless old buildings along the way, and more stories to tell. This time, I'm going to put a thousand characters in it, use them to represent the soul of the building, and tell the historical story. ”
Wang Weimin's love for Shanghai is reflected in his love for old buildings. Last year, Wang Weimin began to move in Dinghai 146 Neighborhood, where he grew up, and before moving, he photographed the alley inside and out, and began to create 4 sets of "Dinghai 146 Old Neighborhood Series Style Map". In the painting, the residents who are opening the window for ventilation, the uncle sitting in the doorway basking in the sun, and the white-collar workers riding by in an electric car, fixing the old house in its most vibrant appearance. Wang Weimin introduced: "Every old house has its own story and emotion, and it is the root of Shanghainese. I want to use my brush to keep a little memory and context. (Xinmin Evening News reporter Wu Xuying)
Pictured: "The Long Scroll of the Upper Seaside River" has obtained various honorary certificates