Have you seen this "Splendid Future" at the train station? The old man painted a huge peony picture for Zhuzhou Station

Yuan Dingzhan's newly created "Splendid Future". Photo by Reporter/Liao Zhiyong

In the center of the VIP room hall of Zhuzhou Railway Station hangs a painting called "Splendid Future", and several peonies on the paper have been "blooming" in Zhuzhou Railway Station for many years, and countless passengers from the south to the north have experienced the style of "them". Today, due to the start of the renovation and expansion project of the new railway station, the painting has been taken down by the staff, but the author Yuan Dingzhan once again painted a huge peony, intending to give it to the new railway station, so that the "national color Tianxiang" will welcome "rebirth" at the new station.

The peonies come to life

Yuan Dingzhan, 81 years old, a native of Baiguan Town, is currently a visiting professor in the Fine Arts Department of Hunan University of Technology. His work is abundant and of high quality. The family of eight people, five painters, his wife Zhang Zhihua and daughter-in-law Huang Yan are members of the Zhuzhou City Beauty Association, the eldest son Yuan Wensong and the youngest son Yuan Yusong are members of the Hunan Provincial Beauty Association.

The old man's peonies come to life, and the grace and magnificence of the national flower jump on the paper. Careful appreciation, but also a unique style, brush strokes and color are just right, petals, flower buds color bright, pastel thick color transition natural, stems and leaves although the heavy color, but the vein is clear, very transparent, leaving a few drops of pastel, as if the winding path, the artistic conception is far-reaching. Flowers and leaves are interesting to each other, which can be described as natural.

Yuan Dingzhan's peony art value is very high, and his large-scale work "Icing on the Cake" is in the permanent collection of Zheng Banqiao Memorial Hall. Li Ruguang, a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts of Hunan Normal University, once commented on Yuan Lao's works: thick and light, calm and free, see the foundation, and have charm. Zhou Weizhao, former chairman of the Zhuzhou Artists Association, also highly admired Yuan Lao's works and gave him the nickname "Yuan Peony". Yuan Lao's works are quite popular in the art market, and his peony drawings have been purchased and collected by many calligraphy and painting lovers in other provinces after they were exhibited in other places.

A trip to Luoyang falls in love with peonies

Zhuzhou has not planted peonies in a large area, as a local painter, why did Yuan Dingzhan have such a high degree of achievement in painting peonies?

"Falling in love with peony flowers is thanks to that trip to Luoyang in the 1970s." Seeing the reporter's doubts, Yuan Dingzhan talked about the past with great interest.

In 1972, Yuan Dingzhan held a factory management position in Zhuzhou No. 4 Middle School and was assigned by the unit to luoyang, Henan Province. Loved painting since childhood, he was impressed by the grace and extraordinary temperament of the national flower peony, and immediately purchased brushes, paints and other tools to sketch in the flower fields. Since then, Yuan Dingzhan has a special love for peony flowers, and almost every year he has to go to Luoyang to sketch and take pictures, which has been painted for nearly 50 years. Today, Yuan Lao's WeChat name is "Peony Idiot".

"Later, peonies were also planted in the Hunan Botanical Garden, and I didn't go to Luoyang to sketch again." Yuan Dingzhan said.

Then draw a peony picture to give to Zhuzhou Station

In 2015, Zhuzhou Railway Station solicited calligraphy and painting works from the society, and Yuan Dingzhan actively signed up to participate, creating a peony picture and three calligraphy works. After the selection of experts, his painting "Splendid Future" and a calligraphy work were hung in the VIP room of Zhuzhou Railway Station.

In May 2019, the reconstruction and expansion project of Zhuzhou Railway Station began. By the end of 2022, after the project is fully completed, Zhuzhou Railway Station will form a comprehensive transportation hub including Pudong Railway, Intercity Railway, Smart Rail, Bus, Long-distance Passenger Transport, Taxi and Social Vehicle.

"The new station must have a new atmosphere, and I will paint a few more peonies to give to Zhuzhou Station." Hearing the news that Zhuzhou Railway Station was to be remodeled and expanded from Zhuzhou Daily, Yuan Dingzhan was very happy, and immediately unfolded the drawing paper and painted a huge peony map with a width of 4.3 meters and a height of 1.6 meters. He intends to give this work to Zhuzhou Railway Station again, still named "Splendid Future". Elder Yuan also said that if the station is needed, he is willing to equip each waiting room with a painting of his work.

Through the reporter's matchmaking, Zhuzhou Railway Station gladly accepted Yuan Lao's good intentions. On the afternoon of October 21, Xiao Qiaodong, a propaganda assistant of the Party Committee Office of Zhuzhou Railway Station, went to Yuan Lao's studio to select works and express his gratitude.

Xiao Qiaodong told reporters that in addition to the station staff, he often saw passengers stopping in front of Yuan Lao's paintings to appreciate. The calligraphy and painting works of artists such as Yuan Dingzhan added an artistic atmosphere to the station, and also showed the profound cultural heritage of Zhuzhou, an industrial city, to tourists and friends from all over the country.

"More artists are welcome to add color and icing on the cake to the new station." Xiao Saidongdong said.