Modern Express News (reporter Jiang Zhenjun) "I didn't expect my birthday, and there were provincial artists who went to the countryside to paint pictures of me. At noon on October 3, Zhou Guihong, a 90-year-old party member in Dongtai City, Yancheng, was very happy. The Modern Express reporter learned that the portrait of Zhou Lao on the same day was Xia Yiyi, an artist from the Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum.
Zhou Guihong's family is in a group of Sizao Village, Dongtai Town, Dongtai City, a veteran party member with decades of party experience, who once served as the secretary of the branch in the village. October 3, the third day of the National Day holiday, is the 90th birthday of the old man. In the morning, the children of the elderly and relatives and friends came from all over to wish him a happy birthday.
"I recently returned to my hometown for the National Day and heard the story of Elder Zhou, and I wanted to use what I had learned and expertise to express the blessings and respect of our artists for the elderly." Xia Yiyi, a member of the China Association for the Promotion of Democracy and an artist from the Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum, whose hometown is in Dongtai, learned of Zhou Lao's birthday, he thought about it and decided to celebrate a special birthday for the elderly.
On October 3, Xia Yilou took the brush, paint, felt, ink and rice paper prepared in advance and rushed to the home of the elderly Zhou Guihong to paint a portrait of the old man on the spot. "It's so similar, it's the most special birthday present I've ever received." After 2 hours, Xia Yidong finally completed the on-site creation, and Elder Zhou was very excited after seeing his portrait.
It is understood that as a full-time artist at the Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum and a visiting scholar at the National Academy of Painting of China, Xia Yiyi has adhered to the principle of literature and art for the people in recent years and served positive energy: a statue of Zhou Wanping, a good man for China, a portrait of Liang Zequan, the winner of the "National May Day Labor Medal", and a statue of Lei Feng to the studio of Yao Huanping, a national labor model.
(Courtesy of the interviewee)