Reporter of this newspaper Song Chaojun Zhao Shuaijie
Pictured: Li Shangyi, the inheritor of Lee's bark strokes, is painting with a bark pen.
Photo by Song Chaojun, reporter of this newspaper.
From a distance, the colors are appropriate and the transitions are soft, and the atmosphere of an ink painting is vivid; Up close, the lines are strong and straight, delicate and symmetrical, with the smart beauty of traditional gongbi paintings. The intersection of virtual and real, with both ink texture and distinct layers, this kind of painting is the intangible cultural heritage of Gansu Province - * City Jingtai County Li's bark strokes.
The bark strokes originated in Fangcao Village, Luyang Town, ** City, and the Li brothers in the village are the fifth generation. According to records, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the ancestors of the Li family were well-known folk craftsmen, inspired by the carved plates and tiles, combined with the carpenter's practice of drawing mortise and tenon on the wood, and finally developed a unique painting mode of using the bark as a brush.
In terms of bark strokes, landscapes, flowers, birds, insects and fish can all be painted, and the lines are rigorous and meticulous, and the brushstrokes are strong and powerful.
Today, the Li brothers, who are in their late teens, don't remember how many works they have painted, but they all recognize one truth - if you want to paint bark strokes well, brush-making and painting skills are indispensable.
Bark strokes, the pen is the essence. The bark pens used by the Li brothers are all made by themselves, and in their eyes, the bark of old elm trees and jujube branches abandoned in the wilderness are natural treasures.
The phloem part of the tree is close to the center of the tree and far away from the outer bark, with good fibers, flexibility and water absorption, and this part is the most suitable for making pens. Li Shangyi, a villager from Fangcao Village, is one of the inheritors of bark strokes, and he picked up a piece of bark and introduced it to reporters in detail.
When making a pen, first go rough and fine, leave the phloem, after many scraping, grinding and soaking, then dry it, and finally try it correctly, the pen can be left.
But brushes of different lengths, widths, and shapes have their own advantages and disadvantages, so how do you classify them? It is to be judged by long experience. "Even if you have two pens made from the same bark, it's possible that one will work and the other won't. Under the sun, Li Shangyi took several bark pens of different sizes and carefully examined them.
Painting skills determine the mood of the painting. Sketching is the first step in painting, and Li Shangyi first starts with a pencil, and then chooses a thin, pointed bark pen to trace the lines.
Then, the coloring step begins, which requires a flat and flat bark pen to fill in the color with ink within the contour line, and then rub the dots to form a gradient effect with appropriate shades. A press, a twist, a pick, a touch of ......In a landscape painting, Li Shangyi rotates his wrists and fingertips, and uses only a bark pen to draw more than a dozen different images of leaves.
The sense of hierarchy is the most difficult to grasp, and the size, light, shade, distance and proximity of the elements in the painting are all related to it. Li Shangyi said.
Li Shangyi has been creating bark strokes for nearly 60 years, and his paintings, large and small, are hung all over the walls of his home. In recent years, he likes to introduce peonies into his paintings, and "peonies welcome the prosperous age" has become the most expressed theme. "I love painting peonies from the bottom of my heart. Pointing to the two peony pictures more than 3 meters long on both sides of the reception room, Li Shangyi was very proud.
It is not easy to draw these peonies well. A few years ago, he made a special trip to transport more than 100 peonies from other places to plant them next to the house and observe them every day. Sketching next to the peony flowers, sitting for hours. Peony flowers surrounded the hut and also fell on the paper, and the peonies came to life.
With the development of the times, the painting materials are also constantly innovating. Earlier, due to the limited conditions, there was also the process of grinding "pot ink". The so-called "pot ink" is to grind the charcoal at the bottom of the pot into powder, add hemp seed oil and leather glue, put water to adjust the viscosity, and then leave it for about 10 days to make ink for painting.
Now, the Lee brothers use modern ink, which is bright and expressive, and the paintings are more strongly colored and preserved longer. "Nowadays, you don't have to get dirt to paint. Li Shangyi said with a smile.
Over the years, when Li Shangyi introduced bark strokes to everyone, his grandson Li Jinwang would always be by his side to assist. Although he is only 18 years old, he has been painting for 13 years. From an early age, he studied with his grandfather. Li Shangyi also often goes to school to tell children about the history of bark strokes. "In order for this intangible cultural heritage to be passed on, it needs to be passed on. Li Shangyi said.
People** 2024-02-14 Edition 06).