It's a pretty ordinary farmer's market.
In several aquatic stalls, lively fish and shrimp occasionally jump out of the water and splash, and crabs, pike crabs, and turtles move their bodies to try to break out of the net to breathe.
When I met Shen Jianjiang on January 23, he was standing behind such an aquatic stall. Near the end of the year, there are many guests, he is busy fishing for shrimp, tying crabs, cutting turtles... A pair of rough hands carved with wind and frost.
Who would have thought that these hands could also paint poetic landscape paintings?
Yes, Shen Jianjiang is not only an aquatic vendor, but also a painter. In November last year, his work "Xishan Yaju" was selected for the fifth "Two Songs Forum" calligraphy and painting joint exhibition in Hangzhou.
From the zero foundation to the beginning, from his own thinking to the leadership of famous teachers, along the way, he has too many stories to share with everyone.
Curled up in the wee hours of the morning in a fishy carriage back and forth
6 years of hard work to save the "first pot of gold"
Shen Jianjiang is 54 years old and a native of Xiaoshan, Hangzhou. Before engaging in water production, he used to be a pharmaceutical manufacturer.
In 1997, the company went out of business and he was laid off.
After a few years of odd jobs, his son was born, and he realized the importance of a stable income for a small family. In 2000, he listened to a friend's advice and invested all his savings to set up an aquatic stall at the Yucai Farmers' Market.
Shen Jianjiang knew that everything was difficult at the beginning, but he didn't expect it to be so difficult.
With no money to buy a car, Shen Jianjiang had to get up at 1:30 a.m. every day, step on the dark night, withstand the cold wind, and go to the Ximen Farmers' Market and other special shuttle vans to buy goods.
He still remembers that on an extremely cold snow day that winter, he was alone in the snow pulling 5 two-pound borrowed crab baskets, and he kept walking, and he had not seen the van for a long time.
Faced with a road that seemed to have no end, the strong man's eyes were red.
At 3am, the van returns. After Shen Jianjiang put away the purchased aquatic products, he also climbed into the carriage, found an empty corner, curled up and sat in the carriage full of fishy smell, his face buried in the collar of the cotton jacket, and his eyes closed for a nap.
At 4 o'clock, Shen Jianjiang returned to the farmers' market, and after packing up the aquatic products, he was busy greeting guests. At noon, when I was really tired, I leaned back in my chair and went home at 7 p.m., sleeping less than 6 hours a day. There are no weekends and annual leave.
Shen Jianjiang was accustomed to getting up early and returning late day after day, accustomed to walking alone in the dark night, and accustomed to the lingering fishy smell at the tip of his nose.
"Those days were really tough, and every time I came back from the purchase, my whole body was wet and I couldn't change it." When you are sad, you will think about how much money you can make every day, and you can temporarily forget your hardships and troubles. ”
In this way, Shen Jianjiang saved the "first bucket of gold" and the family's life improved. In 2006, Shen Jianjiang spent 33,000 yuan to buy a tool car, and he could finally sleep for more than an hour in the morning.
Pursuing his childhood dream of painting, he was turned away
"Can't a fish seller learn Chinese painting?"
Business is on track, and Shen Jianjiang will play cards and drink with other stall owners in the market in his spare time, but he soon feels bored. "It doesn't feel interesting, the heart is empty, but there is nothing else to do." Until one day, his wife Qu Yan said to him: "Many people are practicing calligraphy and painting, do you want to find a hobby of your own?" ”
Listening to his wife say this, Shen Jianjiang suddenly remembered his childhood dream of painting.
In the third grade of elementary school, the school had a Chinese painting class. "I found that the paintings drawn after the brush was dipped in ink and diluted with water were light, which was exactly the same as the scenery of our Xianghu Lake and distant mountains." Shen Jianjiang was very surprised, "It turns out that the painting drawn by the brush is the real mountain and the real water." ”
Since then, Shen Jianjiang began to teach himself landscape painting at home. No one went deep into teaching, he ran to Xinhua Bookstore to find a picture album, found a copy of "Ma Xiao Painting Treasure", loved it, and saved half a month's breakfast money to buy the first album in his life.
There was no rice paper to copy, so he took all the paper he could find in the house to draw.
In this way, Shen Jianjiang taught himself to graduate from junior high school, "At that time, I was already famous in school, but the level was definitely not enough." I begged my dad to help me sign up for an art class, and he saw that I really liked it, so he let me learn to read it. His father helped Shen Jianjiang report a 10-day painting class, where he met Wang Bufeng, a famous painter in Xiaoshan.
Teacher Wang exposed him to real Chinese painting.
In 1988, Shen Jianjiang began to work after graduation, he was still insisting on painting at first, but then gradually became busy, coupled with the fading voice of the people around him, "You can't eat when you paint", he slowly put down the brush.
▲ Shen Jianjiang's paintings: Scepter Seeking Yin
But this love is already deeply planted.
In 2011, Shen Jianjiang decided to regain his brush. He found out that there was a painter living upstairs in the market of an aunt selling vegetables, so he asked the aunt to take him to visit.
The painter said to him: "Learning Chinese painting like you who sell fish is just a waste of time, and you can't learn this kind of elegant art." ”
Shen Jianjiang was very uncomfortable and unconvinced. "Why can't a fish seller learn Chinese painting?" I'm going to learn it for you. ”
He went to several painting training institutions to inquire, but was dissuaded by the high price, "All the money earned is hard money, and I can't afford to do it like this." ”
Shen Jianjiang could only buy his own picture book to practice at home.
Focus on painting landscape paintings and show the beauty of your hometown
On one side is trivial life, on the other side are poetry and painting and far away
Bitter people, the sky is not the limit.
In 2013, the Xiaoshan Farmers' Calligraphy and Painting Association moved to Yucai Road, where Shen Jianjiang passed every day when he went to the farmer's market, and the words "farmer" and "calligraphy and painting" on the plaque attracted him.
With the lessons of the previous few times, he just wandered at the door and didn't dare to enter.
A few days later, love overcame hesitation, Shen Jianjiang finally made up his mind to go inside, and Wang Bogen, president of the Xiaoshan Farmers' Calligraphy and Painting Association, received him. After reading Shen Jianjiang's paintings, Wang Bogen said to him: "As long as you continue to work hard, you will definitely paint better, and we welcome you to join!" In less than a week, Chairman Wang helped Shen Jianjiang get a membership card and let him "transfer" to study, studying under Zhao Daan, a famous painter in Xiaoshan.
The theme of Shen Jianjiang's paintings is mostly "beautiful countryside". At first, because he had to take care of the business, he couldn't go far away, he could only sketch nearby. Later, he gradually found that the countryside of Hangzhou was very well built, "rows of small villas, clean and beautiful, I was determined to paint the beautiful countryside of Hangzhou, hoping to spread to more people." ”
▲ Shen Jianjiang painting: Yunshi JianshanXia Village
This year is already Shen Jianjiang's tenth year in the Xiaoshan Farmers' Calligraphy and Painting Association. "Shen Jianjiang's painting techniques are becoming more and more mature, and when you look at his paintings, you will feel very imposing, very magnificent, and integrated with modern elements, able to show the beauty of his hometown." Xiang Honghong, director of the office of the Xiaoshan Farmers' Calligraphy and Painting Association, told reporters.
Xiang Honghong revealed that Shen Jianjiang is very diligent, and every day of class, he rushes over after finishing work at 9 o'clock in the morning, and after lunch, he will stay alone and practice for a while. "Some teachers suggested that he learn other flower and bird paintings and peasant paintings, but he said that he didn't study anymore, he just wanted to focus on painting landscape painting and learn a skill well."
In 2019, Shen Jianjiang re-contacted Teacher Wang Bufeng. Teacher Wang is 96 years old this year, but he said to Shen Jianjiang: "You can rest assured, as long as you come, I will give you free guidance." ”
▲Shen Jianjiang's work: "Xishan Yaju"
Now, Shen Jianjiang paints every day. When he got home from the farmer's market at 7 p.m., the first thing he did was to paint until 11 p.m. "Chinese paintings should be divided and dyed, and when one layer of color is dry, then go up to another layer." So I usually draw the base color first, then cook, and then come back to the second layer of color. ”
Sometimes, Shen Jianjiang was too forgetful because he painted, he would forget that the food was still in the pot, and when he found out, the food was already scorched. His wife Qu Yan laughed every time: "You are really sleeping and forgetting to eat!" ”
Despite this, Shen Jianjiang still felt that he spent too little time on painting every day.
Two years ago, Shen Jianjiang bought a new van, which he modified to turn the front of the car into his "mobile study.". Whenever he was free, he would run to the car to look through the picture books, think about painting techniques, and even read "Three Hundred Poems of Tang Dynasty" and wonder what is called "poetic love and painting".
Shen Jianjiang sighed heartily: "When painting, I am the happiest, like finding the most abundant and true self, and the satisfaction from the inside out is indescribable." Year after year, my boring life has become colorful and flavorful because of painting. ”
Source: Qianjiang Evening News Hour news trainee reporter Xu Ziying
Duty Editor: Ni Wangzhen