I use the black pen; ink and Chinese brush to paint the state of a tree. The structure of the tree itself abstracts me by a kind of formal and graphic beauty, which arouses a strong vitality and dynamism of the natural plant. I feel, yet, that a depicting of truth to nature from the physical shape of the tree (the traditional Western method of observation in painting) is difficult to accurately convey a sense of intrinsic movement, because the physical authenticity in the appearance of the painting will draw an attention of the eye, so that the formal beauty and the inner tension will be ignored then. However, feeling and movement of the branches can be better expressed when I was attempting to do a quick catch of the growth direction of the tree by a free brushwork of line rather than create the realist space and volume. The line in the work is now getting rid of the other complex factors that the nature has provided, and thus able to abstract an inner vitality and to create a formal beauty in the work.
Creeper (right) also explores a skilled combination of point, line and plane, between the dry and wet brushworks. The subject matter comes from the ivy wall outside of the Great Hall of Lancaster Campus next to my art studio. I chose the subject because I feel the ivy root provides me some hidden yet significant forms of lines that are full of vitality and energy of movement; it arouses my interest in the study of line in the ancient Chinese painting. Furthermore, the way that the ivy root depends on the rock wall, hiding in the layers of leaves brings me a feeling that line here is interweaving and playing with some ‘planes’ (the wall is divided by different colourful planes, and the leaves act as small visual planes comparing with the linear root). In order to increase the contrast of line and plane in the picture, I also use a skill that combines the impasto of gouache with the wet watercolour and ink. I hope the mix of the techniques can also help to present a cultural crossing about Western and Chinese art. For me, this painting is neither an attempt to present the depth, space and truth to nature like the traditional Western painting, nor a returning to the ancient Chinese art, but in a desire of fusing the concepts and cultural features of line and plane from different scientific and aesthetic understandings.
The Campus Series
The natural and cultural landscape, the common sight and undiscovered scene in the campus of Lancaster University are my current topics of exploration. The Lancaster campus is itself a unique combination of natural and artificial landscape in the North-west of England. We can explore the campus by walking around the natural woodland, or through the aim-built architectures – the Chapel, Ruskin Library, Alexandra Square, Confucius Institute and some modern resident houses, etc. Beyond of a physical experience of the place, it has yet an emotional experience of the international environment, culture and lifestyle, which have brought by the people who are living in the campus...
The life in the campus is certainly a cross-cultural experience for the international student and researcher. The old and new experiences of culture and art, in the collision and fusion, are trying to weave an up-to-date network in the mind...
My intention in the practice wants to explore a cross-cultural experience in relation to the place (the campus) via some mixed skills, methods and materials between Chinese ink and Western watercolour and oil painting. As I understand, the different languages and technique can also imply the different cultural and aesthetic understandings. Based on the mixed skills and methods, I attempt to express a contemporary Western campus from an Eastern aesthetics and understanding of art. My desire for transformation in the painting is to present a cross-cultural status by fusing the specific visual features between ancient Chinese ink and modern Western landscape painting.
The life in the campus is certainly a cross-cultural experience for the international student and researcher. The old and new experiences of culture and art, in the collision and fusion, are trying to weave an up-to-date network in the mind...
My intention in the practice wants to explore a cross-cultural experience in relation to the place (the campus) via some mixed skills, methods and materials between Chinese ink and Western watercolour and oil painting. As I understand, the different languages and technique can also imply the different cultural and aesthetic understandings. Based on the mixed skills and methods, I attempt to express a contemporary Western campus from an Eastern aesthetics and understanding of art. My desire for transformation in the painting is to present a cross-cultural status by fusing the specific visual features between ancient Chinese ink and modern Western landscape painting.
Ruskin Library 24-38cm Watercolour on Chinese Paper Apr. 2014 The Round Building 24-38cm Watercolour on Chinese Paper Jan. 2014
Alexandra Park 24-38cm Watercolour on Chinese Paper Jan. 2014 County College 24-38cm Watercolour on Chinese Paper March 2014
Graduate College 46-38cm Watercolour on Chinese Paper Mar. 2014 County Main 38-46cm Watercolour on Chinese Paper Apr. 2014
Yuping Li Lancaster University Campus From an Aerial View Ink and Watercolour in Chinese Flower Paper 30-90cm><4 2014
Campus in a Chinese Scroll Painting 130-38cm Scroll May. 2014
The Calligraphy and Tree Series
Flowing Branches (Left) is an attempt to both the methods of ‘writing’ and ‘drip’ the line that inspirited by Chinese Calligraphy and Pollock’s methodology. I ‘wrote’ the branches by following its direction of growth, thinking about the branches as the linear structure of the Chinese character.
I found the branches of tree have a common direction of movement from the root to the each terminal branch. This movement creates a spatial oblique and interlacement in between of the linear structure; yet, this space I want to express here is not a real space of nature but an artificially and illusively pictorial space to represent the structural movement, expansion and tension.
To add another level of depth, I painted some cold colour lines inside of the interspace of the branches. The colorful points that I dripped on the surface of the picture (learning from Pollock’s art) are really work as I believe. They are helping to add some vivacious feeling, and the assemblage of these points also bring some new implied directions of movement to add the complexity of the painting. This is another practice with an aim to combine the concepts and forms between Western and Chinese art.
I found the branches of tree have a common direction of movement from the root to the each terminal branch. This movement creates a spatial oblique and interlacement in between of the linear structure; yet, this space I want to express here is not a real space of nature but an artificially and illusively pictorial space to represent the structural movement, expansion and tension.
To add another level of depth, I painted some cold colour lines inside of the interspace of the branches. The colorful points that I dripped on the surface of the picture (learning from Pollock’s art) are really work as I believe. They are helping to add some vivacious feeling, and the assemblage of these points also bring some new implied directions of movement to add the complexity of the painting. This is another practice with an aim to combine the concepts and forms between Western and Chinese art.
I was attempting to paint some rhythmic and tensional line. These horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines in the picture, in my intention, should have different directions of movement as well as a visual contrast of the forms. It was also important for me that the random movements of lines and planes are finally to be controlled in a pictorial plane, keeping a motive balance with each other.
Similar with the calligraphy, I emphasized that the depth and space to be expressed through a visual interweaving, overlapping, concealment and revelation of the line strokes; while the rhythm and movement to be exhibited by a combination of quick and slow of dealing with the brushwork on the paper.
I also explored how the turning and setting back of the wrist or the brush on the paper can change the direction of movement of the lines. (Here, I referenced the ancient Chinese theorist Jing Hao’s Bifa Ji – Notes on Brushwork.) Beyond a formalist exploration of the visual language, I hope yet the paintings can display a kind of cultural communication in terms of the skill and methodology.
The Wood around the Lancaster University Campus 34-28cm each Watercolour on Chinese paper Nov. 2013 ~ Mar. 2014