Li Ziyu and her husband Li Oufan
My wife, Li Ziyu, has always loved painting and has a talent, but she seems to have no confidence all the time. Just like her writing, she can write simple and sincere prose, but has always had no confidence in writing novels. She asked me what a novel was, and I replied that fiction is imagination, which is called fiction in English, which means "fake." She said it was bad, I didn't know how to fake it. This is the expression of her innocent character. However, her paintings are full of imaginary beauty, not realistic enough, and even a little abstract. She herself said that if she were to carefully sketch a still life or a portrait, she had no patience and could not draw it. I said whatever you paint, as long as you feel comfortable.
No Obstacle No. 22 Plum Ziyu 55cm×40cm Watercolor on Paper 2017
These paintings were all drawn unconsciously by her. She often told me that when she was painting, she didn't know what she was painting, and when she finished painting, she asked me: What do you think I am painting? I often don't know what to do, so I talk nonsense, and she doesn't care, so she accepts everything as ordered. I, a "literary critic", not only did I know nothing about painting, but I also had no confidence in judging painting. How do I write this article?
I had to put out my inner feelings and thoughts.
45 Plum Ziyu 70cm×35cm Rice Paper Color Ink 2017
I think Ziyu painted sincere feelings. She suffered from depression (depression) and recurred several times. "Melancholy" is a disease that cannot express emotions normally, so I encouraged her to paint as a method of psychological treatment and health care. Some people may say that her paintings show her repressed feelings for many years, I don't completely agree, but I think that painting is a refinement and sublimation of feelings, the same as listening to music and even practicing Buddhism. These paintings of Ziyu are enough to represent.
We are urban people, living in Hong Kong, which is full of high-rise buildings, but Ziyu paints nature - sea of clouds, landscapes, woods, this natural beauty, like dreams and illusions, is also full of emotions, but it is never realistic. This is the exact opposite of her writing style. Reluctantly, it can be said that Ziyu paints landscapes in the soul, which a British poet once called "inscape", which originally referred to poetry, but I deliberately used it in Ziyu's paintings. It is often said that the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei's work "there are paintings in poetry and poetry in paintings", and I think that the inspiration for Ziyu's paintings also comes from Chinese culture, although on the surface she paints Western-style watercolors. Ziyu also likes ancient Chinese poetry and recites far more than I do, so it is normal to unconsciously draw the "landscape" in her mind. If an artist's heart is full of beauty, he/she must like nature, but there is no beauty of nature in Hong Kong, we are old, we do not like to go to the wild to climb mountains, so we cannot contact nature. Many times to Chinese mainland travel, Ziyu is most impressed by Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan. So I deliberately teased her: haha! I guessed it, you painted the Memories of Jiuzhaigou! In particular, the crystal clear lake in the deep mountains is unusually beautiful and makes us linger.
Fifteenth of The Incense Plum Ziyu 70cm×30cm Rice Paper Color Ink 2017
She messed with me and didn't say anything. I know that what she pursues in her heart is absolutely pure beauty, not ugliness. To be honest, there is no word "ugly" in Ziyu's personality, and her attitude towards people and things is even more sincere like a naked child, without any city government. Such a person cannot draw ugly things. Even if there are several paintings whose tone is dark (one is colored on a randomly found piece of black paper), it cannot be a symbol of melancholy. We have been married for sixteen years, and I still can't understand how someone as pure and cheerful as her can get depression. The only explanation is that the environment in which she grew up suppressed her original personality, and painting allowed her to restore her nature. So I encouraged her to draw, to paint whatever she wanted, without any restraints. But she still had no confidence in her artistic talent, until a painter saw her paintings and said the same thing, she was half-convinced, and gradually cultivated a little confidence, so that she could continue to paint.
44 Li Ziyu 70cm×35cm Rice Paper Color Ink 2017
I have been encouraging Ziyu to paint from the side, all so that she can use it to relieve her emotions, because I firmly believe that painting can cultivate herself and maintain physical and mental health and calm. However, since she began to "doodle", it was almost as if she had discovered another source of happiness, and every morning, I worked in the study, and she unfolded the paper and paint in the dining room and began to enter her other magical world. I was writing an article in front of the computer, racking my brains, and when I was at a loss, she would rush in and shout: "Husband, husband, you see, I drew another one!" I turned my head to look, she was holding a magical landscape in both hands, the painting was not dry, I was stunned, how could I paint it so quickly? What surprised me even more was that her face was so radiant, as excited as an eighteen-year-old girl putting on new clothes for the first time. In an instant, I thought of what she looked like when her depression recurred many years ago: her yellow and dark face, silent eyes, and the corners of her mouth hanging low. A wave of heartache surged into my heart, my eyes were a little moist, I quickly stopped, and immediately pretended to comment: "Wonderful, wonderful! How did you draw it? How are the colors adjusted? It's amazing, well, I bought it, a hundred Hong Kong dollars! Zi Yu raised his eyebrows, pretended to be petite, and scolded me for exaggeration, in fact, no matter what kind of joke it was, I was really happy in my heart. This is an unexplainable miracle, and I can only describe it with words like "divine stroke" or "if there is divine help", because she has never been trained in any sketching, how to draw? On the contrary, when she asked professional painters for advice, everyone advised her not to learn painting from a teacher, saying that Ziyu's painting style has long become a style, or it is better to play freely. In any case, Ziyu finally found a thing that made her happy, and also added endless fun to our ordinary lives, and I was also at ease. Happiness flowed naturally from her brush, something that millions could not buy. Of course, I will do everything I can to encourage her to continue to paint.
At that time, the second Li Ziyu 35cm × 35cm rice paper color ink 2017
In any case, I am most pleased that Ziyu has confidence in painting! This kind of confidence cannot be taught by any psychiatrist, not even my husband, but only she cultivates it herself, and perhaps invisibly relies on the grace of a bodhisattva. Ziyu will not become a professional painter in the future, nor will she make a living selling paintings, and what friends appreciate is not any professional achievement, but the unique temperament of jade revealed in the painting, a kind of true disposition naturally revealed in life.
I have the honor of cooperating with CITIC Publishing House to publish "Landscape of the Heart: The Brush Takes Me Out of Depression", mainly to let readers know that painting can cure emotional diseases. It is the work of such an untrained amateur painter who expresses a personal emotion. In order to adjust daily life, but also to help friends who have emotional illness and cannot extricate themselves from acquaintances or do not know each other, Shu Ji can get a little comfort and resonance. That's what we're here for.
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Landscape of the Mind Brush took me out of depression Li Ziyu CITIC Publishing House Books ¥25 Purchase