The New Year is approaching, the Year of the Tiger is getting stronger, and these two days the special stamps of China Post's "Year of Nongyin" have been issued, which have been welcomed by many philatelic enthusiasts.
An imposing mountain tiger means "national fortune and prosperity", and a gentle-looking tiger mother with two small tigers means that her children and grandchildren are prosperous and the family is happy.
The stamp designer, Feng Dazhong, a painter known for his ability to draw tigers, began to paint tigers at the age of 16 and has been associated with tigers for nearly 60 years. Today, listen to Feng Dazhong tell us about his love affair with the tiger.
On January 5th, at the National Museum of China, the China Post Tiger Zodiac Stamp "Year of Nongyin" was officially released. This is the 42nd consecutive year since 1980 that China Post has issued zodiac stamps, which has touched the hearts of many philatelic enthusiasts. There has been a rush to buy in many parts of the country, reflecting everyone's love for tiger tickets and painters, and the image of tigers has become a hot topic of discussion online and offline.
Feng Dazhong's association with the "tiger" also began from his childhood. Feng Dazhong was born in 1949 in a miner's family in Gai County, Liaoning Province, and loved painting as a child.
When he was in junior high school, he saw the paintings of Li Xiaoru, an art teacher who was good at painting landscapes, tigers, flowers and birds, in his art class and was infected and embarked on the road of art.
In order to paint a good tiger, Feng Dazhong often rode his bicycle to the zoo to see the tiger at dawn; after returning to the city, Feng Dazhong spent almost all of his leisure time with the tiger in the park, in order to depict the tiger closer, he even ventured into the tiger cage with the assistance of the breeder, and his understanding of the tiger was meticulous.
Knowing the tiger, loving the tiger and then drawing the tiger, Feng Dazhong broke through the stylized routine and gave the tiger a human spiritual charm. China has been worshipping the tiger since ancient times, and the "tiger" is often used as a sacred beast to worship because of its divine protection and social class symbols, and the tiger has also been shaped into a face-like image.
The tiger in Feng Dazhong's pen is gentle in its mighty benevolence and courage, and the tiger's "joys and sorrows" are anthropomorphic in the paintings, becoming a fresh wind in the Chinese art world in the 1980s.
In 2006, Feng Dazhong experienced the pain of losing his daughter. After more than a year of silence, he pinned his condolences on his daughter in this painting of "Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang".
"Year of Nongyin" special stamp designer Painter Feng Dazhong: "Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang" is one of my most careful paintings, the picture is heavy snow, my snowflakes are not sprinkled with white powder, it is a little painting, so that the snow is very light. I took the tiger as my own painting, what my mood was like at that time, so I emphasized this look.
"The Year of Nongyin" Special Stamp Designer Painter Feng Dazhong: People should learn from tigers, the spirit of animals, that kind of strength, that kind of mighty indomitable. But it also has a heart of love, and it also has a grateful heart.
For nearly 60 years of friendship with the tiger, Feng Dazhong is full of affection for the tiger and also pays attention to the natural world in which the tiger lives. Feng Dazhong, a deputy to the National People's Congress in 2003, called for caring for the landscapes and rivers around him and protecting the ecological homes of wild animals, including tigers.
Rooted in life and innovating in the times, Feng Dazhong's artistic thinking on painting tigers has influenced a generation of people, including his son Feng Haitao. Unlike his "non-academic" father, Feng Haitao graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and has been teaching at the school ever since. His father's warm gaze and sincere brushstrokes on the landscape inspired him to depict life in detail.
The work that Feng Haitao is creating depicts a yellow line on an asphalt road that can be seen everywhere in modern cities, using the traditional brush painting method and the folding of branches commonly found in Chinese painting. The color blocks from a distance are simple and the close-up brushstrokes are complex, and creativity is integrated into the tradition, expressing the observation and thinking of the current life.
Feng Dazhong's son Feng Haitao, associate professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts: When I was studying painting, he said that I couldn't teach you, I was self-taught, and I could only suit me. We talked about creativity, and he particularly reinforced this. He told me at that time, then you go to the Central Academy of Fine Arts to study, to learn some contemporary things, or some new theories, which belong to our times. I feel that in my teaching career, I have inherited from my father that I will not be complacent, and I will encourage young people to innovate.
Feng Dazhong's tiger breaks through the stylized clichés and gives the tiger a humanistic charm, and between such a small square inch as a stamp, the tiger's gentlemanly attitude and benevolent heart can be presented. This painter who has been associated with the tiger for nearly 60 years has used his life's efforts to ink the times and depict his beautiful expectations for the motherland and life.
Source: CCTV news client