"Tropical Plants Series" oil painting creation with feeling
Text | Zhou Tieli
For thousands of years, The heavens have given Hainan such magic and beauty. As the son of Hainan, I am glad to have this blessing, and I sincerely love the grass and trees in front of me; as a painter, my heart is always surging with indescribable feelings, hoping for the brush to record this hot land. Therefore, this happiness and emotion are presented one by one in the form of oil paintings.
Zhou Tieli, "Life and Sunshine" (oil on canvas), 160x160cm, 2008
Selected to advocate green life and build ecological civilization together - National Fine Arts Exhibition
and is collected
Zhou Tieli, "Coast Guard" (oil on canvas), 160x160cm, 2009
As far as Chinese contemporary painting is concerned, the natural landscape of tropical rainforest plants has not been fully displayed by oil painters, with this problem, I have traveled all over the landscapes and rivers of Hainan for more than ten years, tropical jungles, although it is difficult, fortunately, my own works in 2008 held in Beijing to reflect the theme of Hainan tropical rainforest plants "Life , Sunshine - Zhou Tieli Oil Painting Exhibition", and got the famous mainland critics Shao Dazhen, Ma Hongzeng, Shang Hui, Chen Zui, Wang Yong, Gu Sen, Wang Ruiting, Tao Yongbai, Praise from critics such as Xia Shuoqi.
Zhou Tieli's "Green Movement" (oil painting) oil on canvas
160x160cm, 2008
Zhou Tieli, "Banana Garden Fragrance" (oil painting), 80x80cm, 2020
Some commentators praised my works with "tropical landmarks of Chinese oil painting", "sunshine of life, harmonious symphony", "Hainan tropical plant series oil paintings, a cluster of artistic wonders that have bloomed in the Chinese oil painting industry in recent years", "he has made up for a gap in the localization of Chinese oil painting in the expression of the aesthetic characteristics of Hainan region", and put forward valuable opinions and suggestions, so that in the creation of this series of works, the direction is clearer and the thinking is clearer. Looking back on the artistic love affair with tropical plants for more than ten years, I have a thousand emotions!
01
Out of love for the nature of his hometown
As a painter born and raised in Hainan Island, painting "familiar things around me" became my best choice. I admire nature and the wonder of the Hainan tropical rainforest. Whenever I walk into the tropical rainforest and wander between the magical pictures of nature, as if listening to a symphony of green life; whenever I approach the various purple and red plants in the great forest and capture the beautiful elves that seem to be floating in the mortal world, my heart is fanatical and quiet; communicating with them is like feeling the feeling of "there is me in things", "I have things", "things I forget", "the unity of heaven and man", which can never be expressed by words, only by using my heart to understand, to appreciate, to accumulate, to improve.
Zhou Tieli, Coco (oil on canvas), 80x60cm, 2020
So, when facing the canvas, they poured out of my heart, my eyes, and my hands, and replied to my artistic obsession with the most vigorous and brilliant expressions. Of course, only a passion for artistic creation is not enough, in the continuous in-depth contact with tropical plants, I have some life experience, I finally found that these tropical plants are no longer the objects of my childhood play, their upright, delicate posture, colorful and brilliant colors, strong and tenacious vitality deeply infected me, let me gradually refine the creative theme of "life and sunshine".
02
Out of the perception of the "ecological homeland" era
"Ecology and Homeland", the theme of this year's Beijing International Biennale, is also related to the huge ecological and environmental costs paid by the rapidly rising China in the process of rapid economic development.
Zhou Tieli, "Phoenix Blossoms" (oil on canvas), 80x60cm, 2020
Specific to the creation of their own tropical plant theme, I think first of all, I also have my own understanding of the spirit of the times, in the work I emphasize the tropical plant "life and sunshine" side, praise its tenacious and tenacious life vitality and colorful life forms, nothing more than hoping that people can get a kind of beauty enjoyment and inspiration from their own paintings, and focus on portraying the inner soul of these plants from the spiritual realm level, so that the viewer can feel the meaning of environmental protection and natural ecology from the paintings. And think about the protection of human ecological homeland such a question.
Zhou Tieli, Jackfruit (oil on canvas), 60x50cm, 2020
It can be seen that I did not "go first" at the beginning of my creation to meet the needs of universal values.
From the above two points of experience, I know that compared with the vastness of tropical plants, the broad spirit of the times, and the profundity of the art world, what I am doing so far can at best be called a drop in the ocean. In time, I will also dig deep into the rich mine of tropical plant creation, and strive to bring viewers a fresher wind, more colorful colors, and more lively and abundant vitality of tropical Hainan!
This article was published in the first issue of the National Art Core Journal in 2011, Fine Arts Research Magazine
Painter Profile
Artist profile
Zhou Tieli
Zhou Tieli, male, Zhongyuan, Han ethnicity, born in August 1958 in Hainan Island, graduated from the Art College of Hainan University majoring in fine arts, and graduated from the 2012 National Advanced Seminar for Professionals of Painting Academies (Oil Painting Class) sponsored by the Art Department of the Ministry of Culture and undertaken by the China Oil Painting Institute of the China Academy of Art. Former vice president of Haikou Painting Institute of Hainan Province, director of the Creative Research Department, national first-class artist, member of China Artists Association, deputy director of Oil Painting Art Committee of Hainan Provincial Artists Association, executive chairman of Hainan Oil Painting Society, executive president of Hainan Oil Painting Academy.
His fine art works have been selected for many major national art exhibitions and have won awards, published and collected. He has held 16 solo oil painting exhibitions at home and abroad, and a number of TV special films reflecting his artistic achievements and deeds have been broadcast nationwide. Over the years, we have focused on the study and exploration of Hainan's unique regional customs and styles, and expressed the flowers and fruits of Hainan's tropical plants with a unique artistic style.
Representative works: "Liberation of Hainan Island Campaign - Before Crossing the Sea", "One of the Rural Series", "Sea Feelings Series", "Life and Sunshine - Tropical Plants Flowers and Fruits Series". His series of tropical plants, flowers and fruits have been highly appreciated by famous art critics at home and abroad, and have been praised by Shang Hui, director of the Theoretical Committee of the China Artists Association and editor-in-chief of Fine Arts Magazine, as "a tropical landmark of Chinese oil painting". In 2008, he held the "Life And Sunshine - Zhou Tieli Oil Painting Exhibition" in the CCTV Studio in Beijing, and was the first painter to enter the "China Television Art Exhibition" column of the CCTV Calligraphy and Painting Channel. Published personal monographs "Life And Sunshine - Zhou Tieli Oil Painting Collection" and "My Hainan - Zhou Tieli Oil Painting Collection".
Appreciation of works
One of the Colorful Sunshine Series (oil painting), 100x100cm, 2014
Stretch (oil on canvas) 80X80cm, 2020
Nostalgia (oil on canvas), 80x80cm, 2018
"Fruits of the Southern Kingdom" (oil on canvas), 80x80cm, 2018
Rich Bird (oil on canvas), 60x60cm, 2020
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