Text / He Wanli
Among the my familiar friends of art circles, Cao Mingxi can be considered as a profound experience artist with various artistic abilities, some friends nicknamed him “amphibious” painter is not an exaggeration. Today, when we see Cao Mingxi’s bird and flower painting, fully explained he is on the way of art, consistent study and explore deeply the true essence of Chinese tradition painting, he realized clearly that the philosophy of people often said “brush and ink with the times”.
Fine brushwork bird and flower painting is a kind of expression form of Chinese painting, is different from freehand brushwork, is a bright pearl of Chinese traditional painting art. She was very popular in the Five and Two Song Dynasties, in fact from the paintings of the Warring States Period to during the Shang and Zhou bronzes, and the Neolithic pottery can see its context, it was only in the Tang Dynasty that people divided it into an independent branch. It is characterized by the use of delicate and rigorous techniques in the special cooked silk or cooked paper create flower and bird painting, all flowers and trees, birds and animals, insects and fish and other creatures in nature are objects of fine brushwork bird and flower painting performance.
Cao Mingxi | 《Lotus leaf five inch lotus charming》 | 180 x 96cm | fine brushwork bird and flower painting | 2015
Cao Mingxi selected 《Seasonal flowers》 as his long range creation plan, can also be regarded as an individual “12th Five-year” plan, this batch of fine brushwork bird and flower painting is his important task of this year, the main content is a kind of flower in each month, such as plum blossom of January, apricot blossom of February, peach blossom of Match……all the year round flowers are closely bound up with people’s life, the ancestor of Chinese nation is the nation of loving flowers, and gives a variety of flowers with different moral, each month is represented by the flower, such as the May pomegranate flower called "eclogite month"; in June the lotus blooms called "Lotus"; August osmanthus open called "keigetsu". Many flowers bloom in the spring, but the plum is not the same, more snow wind bully more spirit, more cold more delicate fragrance, an ancient poem is written in such a way: the corner of a few branches plum, blooming alone in cold weather, known away is not snow, cause the subtle fragrance, The plum blossom is a symbol of national spirit, Cao Mingxi's painting of "magpie on plum branch" is an expression of the spirit of unremitting self-improvement plum character, its gagger, firm and indomitable, never yield in spite of reverses the quality and integrity, inspired generations of Chinese people, the courage to open up, to create a harmonious living environment and social civilization.
During Cao Mingxi studied in college of fine arts of Nanjing normal university, got many famous teachers’s guidance, such as Qin Xuanfu, Tan Yong, Huang Chunrao, Yang Yunlong, Xv Minghua, Wei Tianchi, Fan Baowen etc., led on solid professional foundation for painting and calligraphy creation. In early stage he main attacked water color painting, many works have published on 《Fine arts observation》, 《Southeast university college journal》，《China art weekly》 and some publications. But he read cursorily, both study calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting, including folk art kite and so on, he mastered very well many art category. His water powder painting, use brush steady, rich color, novel composition, his water color painting is light and graceful and transparent, with carelessly and leisure brush, expressed the characteristic of painting, reflected very profound force and skill, in 1997, Nanjing normal university press has published 《Cao Mingxi works collection》. I think even through the performance of plastic arts is so many, but the theory of painting is interflow, the skills also are the same, that’s people said “make the past serve the present, make foreign things serve China”, Cao Mingxi’s fine brushwork bird and flower painting “pomegranate blossom”, he used the skills of western painting, he expressed Yuan Dynasty Zhang Hongfan’s poem” Who taught with Jiang capsule scarlet blood, green cloud heap - run. bees thought that its branch fire, busy driving uptrend too short wall”. Many poets praised pomegranate blossom in past dynasties, and highlighted “red”, cause pomegranate blossom as known as red, the first is that readers can be overwhelmed with admiration for the red, , write the red and colorful and beauty of pomegranate blossom, no speak bluntly, no metaphor, by contrast, the poem does not have a "red" words.
The poet saw the bees fly over from pomegranate trees, perhaps these bees have collected nectar flew back, or to find elsewhere flowers, but the author is "unjustified" that the bees mistake pomegranate blossom is the fire, hurriedly flew over the parapet. Cao Mingxi in order to highlight the "red" of pomegranate blossom, give full play to the characteristics of Chinese painting colors bright, decorative, use of fluorescent dye boldly, then, hit the water, hit by techniques such as color, dyed to produce exquisite, make it produce vivid visual effects, more emphasis on the fire burning red, will be a quality suggestive of poetry or painting most incisive.
Cao Mingxi | 《Pomegranate blossom》| Doufang | 34 x 34cm | Fine brushwork bird and flower painting | July, 2010
In shaping the structure with multi center pen painting method, and ancient Tiffany twisted line, that line of strength and texture, which requires the painter with good calligraphy skills. Cao Mingxi in calligraphy has a lot of hard work, his research subject of the regular script from Yan Lugong, cursive learned from Erwang, Sun Guoting, Yu Youren, more learning from Wang Xizhi in the "Seventeen", official script he loves 《Shimen song》, 《MaoGong Ding》, especially to indulge in Han bamboo book. In 1995 China Calligraphers Association organized the Chinese cursive writing training class "learning from Shen Peng, Liu Yi and other famous calligrapher, got calligraphy inspiration, improved a large, and the creation of a number of calligraphy, In 2002 published a personal calligraphy collection. China painting and calligraphy since ancient times stresses the use of gas, gas through the full width at one go. Tang Dynasty Wu Daozi is the artist with an air of victory, each brush must want to drink, to achieve "the hack also electric shock if the flow of air" and advocate use the gas, the gas of a gentleman, Chinese Calligraphers and painters have emphasized tolerance, "drunk wine, crude gas also" strong will, passion, self-assured or supercilious, amazing. Brewmaster Li Bai poem speak highly of Huai su painting after drunk " always see ghosts surprised snakes go". The so-called six gas can have six note color, filling in ink. Shu Huai said: "drunk to painting a lot, but wake up can not painting." In the works of Cao Mingxi are often "drunken immortal" two words greets, this is his gracious name. This is perhaps his miss youth work experience and feelings of the wine shop? He is well aware of the truth, realize the heaven and earth from the "wine", so each with friends for booze. His calligraphy is forceful, unique personality, throughout his fine brushwork bird that very small characters, can imagine not in a day.
From this level of the spirit connotation, fine brushwork bird and flower painting focuses on unity of form and spirit, depict spirit with shape, the expression and the embodiment of subjective spirit, the pursuit of interest and artistic conception, meaning and refine brushwork is her essence. The artist in the creation process, not only depict objects, should also be reached a "lively" on the effect of visual art, express more deep effect based on image sketch observation and the pursuit of vivid, so that readers can obtain the culture of mind and nature, for the enjoyment of art, I think this is Cao Mingxi to the expression and the pursuit of the goal.
Note: the author of this paper is the vice dean of academy of arts of Yangzhou University, Professor, doctor of Nanjing Arts Institute, art theorist, critic, landscape painter.
Cao Mingxi | 《Look very happy》| Round fan | 34 x 34cm | Fine brushwork bird and flower painting | June, 2010