Editor: Chinese artist Geng Shuwei 耿树伟 is well-known for his Chinese ink and colour painting of pine-and-snow landscapes. In the following narrative, Geng Shuwei talks about mind preparation before producing artworks in his own experience.

image above: close-up, Endless Mountains 江山无尽, ink and colour on paper, Geng Shuwei, China

Geng Shuwei:

Every time I create an artwork of Chinese pine-and-snow landscapes, or improve my innovative techniques in painting, I would think inside my head with academic debate of inheritance of traditional style and self-recognition of my painting style of pines and snow landscapes. I would try harder to improve the quality of my works and their aesthetic level, taking it as one of the first principles that I should follow. I would try my best to keep away from the noise as much as possible, enjoy a pure peaceful mind, and use the paintbrush in my hand to express my respect for the magnificent rivers and mountains in the nature, which is also a way for me to take responsibility for my research and innovation of Chinese pine-and-snow landscape painting.

I admire pines and mountain peaks. Their profound meanings to me are embodied in the subtle aspects of life. Looking at the mountains and rivers, I believe their beauty is contained in the spirit between the heaven and the earth. To me, the most pleasing works of art in the art history are those that have humanistic feelings artists have put into for everyday scenes, which have been refined and summarised, and which ordinary scenes have been transformed into realm scenes, thus ordinary things have been endowed with extraordinary cultural connotation.

I am grateful for my learning of artistic aesthetics of Chinese landscape painting in my decades. My creation and innovation of Chinese pine-and-snow landscape painting and pine-and-snow painting of the Huangshan Mountain are the crystallisation of inheritance of Chinese art culture for more than one thousand years.

I think that pure and simple attitude towards life is an artistic realm itself. Only when the inner heart is truly pure, can the internal image and the external image be perfectly integrated, providing images of high quality. If so, even if the works show ordinary scenes, they still can nourish people and get resonance because of their clear, fresh and natural characteristic features.

Introduction of the artist Geng Shuwei:

Geng Shuwei 耿树伟 was born in Heilongjiang Province, China. He graduated from the Fine Arts Education Department of Harbin Normal University and Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Correspondence University, learning from Li Keran, Shi Lu, Bai Xueshi, etc.

Geng Shuwei is specialised in Chinese pine-and-snow landscape painting. His works have been exhibited in the Ice and Snow Painting Exhibition of the 24^th Winter Universiade. He has won an Excellent Award in the Sino-Russian Teachers’ Art Works Exhibition. The works and articles of Geng Shuwei on Chinese Pine-and-Snow Landscape Painting and Huangshan Mountain Pine-and-Snow Landscape Painting have been kept by the Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Knowledge Database. His works and books have been collected by Harvard–Yenching Library, as well as in the Australian National Art Exhibition.

Geng Shuwei is a member of Heilongjiang Artists Association, contracted painter of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy News, Heilongjiang Academy of Painting and Heilongjiang Daily Art Museum. He is the Vice President and Art Advisor of Chinese Art Alliance Journal, Director of Beijing Century Golden Garden Cultural Arts Center, Deputy Director Researcher of Beijing Shuangyong Art Center, and Art Advisor of Heilongjiang Provincial People’s Congress Art Center.

If you are interested in collecting Geng Shuwei’s artwork, please contact tutuhaoyi@gmail.com