劉慧

“出彩——牛曉林彩鉛藝術(shù)探索創(chuàng)作展暨首屆未來杯全國彩鉛繪畫大賽作品展”6月初在浙江賽麗美術(shù)館展出。6月10日下午，一場關(guān)于“彩鉛藝術(shù)探索創(chuàng)作”沙龍，讓很多美術(shù)老師和學習繪畫的同學們感慨良多，受益匪淺。

旅美藝術(shù)家、美術(shù)教育家牛曉林，從專業(yè)畫家的角度重新定義彩色鉛筆在教學和創(chuàng)作上的意義，為彩鉛繪畫打開了一片更加廣闊的天空。

展覽現(xiàn)場80件作品精彩紛呈

“出彩——牛曉林彩鉛藝術(shù)探索創(chuàng)作展暨首屆未來杯全國彩鉛繪畫大賽作品展”展出了牛曉林80件作品，包括“中國人民生活系列”“戲劇系列”“肖像創(chuàng)作系列”“探索與學習系列”，同時還有以“為孩子們”為題材創(chuàng)作的系列作品，展現(xiàn)了牛曉林獨創(chuàng)的彩鉛藝術(shù)教學系統(tǒng)及教學理念。

展廳里，有一幅《川妹子》畫的是牛曉林在四川一個小鎮(zhèn)上偶遇的一位小姑娘。“她的朝氣、樸實給我留下了難忘的印象。我抓拍了好幾個鏡頭，就一直保留著?！迸粤诌x擇創(chuàng)作這件作品時，就是希望畫出地地道道的川味兒，原汁原味地表現(xiàn)出他所看到的四川人民的生活。在技巧上，牛曉林發(fā)現(xiàn)了彩色鉛筆的一個獨特性——暫且叫它深層素描兼容性。這幅畫的許多地方是用這個技巧畫出來的。

“這幅《平安夜》則是早期的一個挑戰(zhàn)，我想探討彩色鉛筆是否可以進行深度創(chuàng)作，例如專業(yè)而深入的表現(xiàn)空間、氣氛以及更深入地刻畫人物形象?！苯Y(jié)果令牛曉林較為滿意。這幅畫的實踐，也為以后的創(chuàng)作提供了很多經(jīng)驗。

另一幅《打起手鼓唱起歌》則最初源于一個網(wǎng)友的照片，后經(jīng)牛曉林進行創(chuàng)作而成?！拔野l(fā)現(xiàn)它幾乎包含了一幅優(yōu)秀創(chuàng)作題材需要的所有因素：典型的時間、地點和人物關(guān)系。我調(diào)動了一切我具備的素描和色彩能力?！痹谶@幅作品中，牛曉林對彩色鉛筆創(chuàng)作的可能性進行了一次探索。

“這次展覽，我還特別準備了關(guān)于‘中國人民生活系列的作品，比如這件《農(nóng)民工》。每次回國，我?？吹侥切覓煸诟呒墝懽謽峭獠敛ＡТ暗膭趧诱?，從事著非常辛苦的工作，但我從他們的表情里感受到他們在城市里有了新的生活，看到了新的希望。雖然流著汗，但他們以為城市建設(shè)作出了貢獻而感到光榮。”牛曉林把它做成紀念碑式的構(gòu)圖，還加上了紅飄，表達祝福。完成這件大幅作品時，牛曉林內(nèi)心非常激動。

《藝術(shù)家企業(yè)家夏賽麗》對人物的形象氣質(zhì)刻畫也是一個挑戰(zhàn)。創(chuàng)作時，牛曉林最大的疑惑是：是否可以用彩色鉛筆表現(xiàn)出來？越劇《斷橋》是戲曲演員夏賽麗與何賽飛的成名之作?！拔艺业疆敃r的錄像，看了無數(shù)遍，分析了每一個鏡頭，但沒有一個是可以直接進行美術(shù)創(chuàng)作的畫面。后來，我發(fā)現(xiàn)白娘子的這個動作是經(jīng)典的，所以一切都圍繞著她來構(gòu)圖了。我當時有大膽的藝術(shù)構(gòu)想，就是把印象派色彩、中國潑墨和戲曲元素結(jié)合起來，創(chuàng)作出一種全新的彩鉛畫風格?！弊髌吠瓿珊螅粤诌€是比較滿意的。

首次在國內(nèi)提出彩鉛繪畫概念

牛曉林于1963年入中央美術(shù)學院附中就讀，1983年入西安美術(shù)學院油畫系讀研究生，師從著名畫家武德祖和諶北新。畢業(yè)后，他工作于八一電影制片廠，并參與《巍巍昆侖》影片的創(chuàng)作。1990年，他移居美國，先后在馬薩諸塞州州立美術(shù)學院等大學講學、舉辦畫展，作品被私人以及哈佛大學等公共機構(gòu)收藏。

1994年，牛曉林在波士頓華人文化中心初次接觸業(yè)余美術(shù)教育工作。隨著教學思考的深入和教學規(guī)模的不斷擴大，他逐漸確立了以彩色鉛筆為主要繪畫工具、以向繪畫大師經(jīng)典作品臨摹學習為主要授課方式的教學思路，形成了一套系統(tǒng)而有成效的少兒美術(shù)教學方法和組織形式。

目前，這一教學體系在美國已有20多年的教學實踐，并在波士頓地區(qū)的業(yè)余美術(shù)教育領(lǐng)域產(chǎn)生了一定影響。2012年，牛曉林將20多年積累的獨創(chuàng)的教學經(jīng)驗，匯集成《彩色鉛筆素描教學CPS》一書出版發(fā)行，并首次在國內(nèi)提出彩色鉛筆素描的概念，為國內(nèi)少兒基礎(chǔ)美術(shù)教育領(lǐng)域帶來不一樣的方法論，引起國內(nèi)美術(shù)教育工作者和美術(shù)愛好者的關(guān)注。

牛曉林說，他設(shè)制的彩色鉛筆素描課程，把素描、色彩融為一體，符合孩子直觀的思維模式；高質(zhì)量的教學范作，題材多樣、貼近生活；系統(tǒng)的教學方法，由淺入深，利于保持學習的持久性；學習大師經(jīng)典，臨摹大師名作，體悟大師的創(chuàng)作思維；以通俗易懂的語言講授專業(yè)知識，有助于真正掌握繪畫技法，練就極強的形象思維。

“我的教學宗旨，就是把孩子們對繪畫的喜愛變成他們自身的價值?！迸粤值慕虒W不以單純地培養(yǎng)孩子對美術(shù)的興趣愛好為目的，而是將繪畫語言和學習生活認知、自我認知相融合，讓孩子通過繪畫語言了解自我，培養(yǎng)起對學習的興趣、對生活的熱愛。

就在2014年，牛曉林受邀與三捷投資集團有限公司合作，在杭州成立“娃哈哈未來城美術(shù)教育中心”，得以將CPS體系完整地貢獻于國內(nèi)美術(shù)教育界。

“他是從教學的需要出發(fā)發(fā)現(xiàn)了彩色鉛筆創(chuàng)作，進而察覺到它的可能性，直到今天做出這樣的成績。我看到了他在大洋彼岸奮斗的30年，那是一個全面發(fā)展、勇于探索、踏踏實實不懈追求的畫家所走過的路?！敝R北新說，牛曉林的實踐對年輕一代有著啟發(fā)意義。

From June 1 to 10， 2018， Zhejiang Saili Art Gallery in Hangzhou held an exhibition titled “Creating a New Era： Frank Nius Exploration of Colored Pencil Drawing”， featuring the 80 colored pencil drawings of Niu Xiaolin （Frank Niu）， a Chinese American artist who engages in art education and creativity. Also on display on the same venue were 229 colored pencil drawings created by professionals. The drawings were in a separate but related exhibition called The First “Welearning Cup” National Colored Pencil Drawing Competition Exhibition.

On the afternoon of June 10， a workshop on the art of colored pencil drawing was held at the venue， attended by art teachers and students， among other people present at the event. They were deeply impressed with the drawings by Niu Xiaolin.

Nius 80 drawings fell into five sections： the Chinese Life series， the Theater series， Portraits series， Exploration and Study series， and For Children series. These drawings well presented Niu Xiaolins accomplishment in colored pencil drawing and his unique art education system on colored pencil drawing and his art philosophy.

What makes Nius colored pencil drawing unique is that his drawings are more than sketches. The artist focuses upon some details in a drawing so that the drawing can explore artistic features in depth. He has been able to create different atmospheres， spatial relations， and human images often seen in mature artworks in other artistic media. He has explored a wide range of possibilities in colored pencil drawing. Niu has rediscovered the charms of colored pencil and redefined the art of colored pencil drawing.

The section titled “Chinese Life” featured drawings he created especially for this exhibition in Hangzhou. is dedicated to millions of those people who move around the country in search of jobs in cities. On his home-visiting trips， he saw several times some workers cleaning walls of skyscrapers. So he drew such a cleaner working a fa?ade of a skyscraper set in the background of Hangzhou. He chose to draw the person like a monument and colored his work uniform red. When he eventually finished the drawing， he was so excited that he wasnt able to hold back his tears.

To make a portrait of Xia Saili， an entrepreneur in Hangzhou who owns the museum and provided the space for Nius solo exhibition， Niu faced some challenges. The biggest challenge was if he could really do a portrait with colored pencils. Xia Saili used to be a Yueju Opera star before she turned to business. So Niu watched a Yueju Opera highlight called to see how Xia performed in the peak of her blooming career. He repeatedly watched the scene and then decided to integrate several artistic elements into the portrait. The result presents an image created in impressionist colors， Chinese splashed ink， and theater elements. Niu was happy with the innovative way he created the portrait.

In 1983， Niu Xiaolin took a graduate course at the Oil Painting Department of Xian Academy of Fine Arts. His tutors were Wu Dezu and Chen Beixin. After graduation he worked for a film studio for years. In 1990， he migrated to USA， where he gave lectures and held exhibitions. His artworks are in private and public collections in USA.

He began to explore the possibility of using colored pencils as a major tool for drawing in 1994 when he taught children at a Chinese cultural center in Boston. Gradually he developed a successful system. He taught children how to do colored-pencil drawing by copying masterpieces with colored pencils.

Nius drawing system has been practiced in the United States for over 20 years and has produced positive results and influence in art education for children around Boston in particular. In 2012， Peoples Art Press in China published a textbook on colored pencil drawing authored by Niu Xiaolin. Niu was the first Chinese who came up with the idea of sketching with colored pencils. His approach has brought a different methodology into art education for children. Art educators and enthusiasts in China have noticed the new method.

The exhibition in Hangzhou was by no means Nius first association with the city. In 2014， He set up an art education center at Wahaha Future City in partnership with an investment group.

“He noticed colored pencils in his teaching practice and saw the possibilities in them. In his achievement I see his hard work on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. His achievement embodies a successful journey an artist has taken in search of growth in a hardworking and down-to-earth spirit，” commented Nius mentor Chen Beixin with Xian Academy of Fine Arts. “Niu Xiaolins practice offers an enlightening insight into art for younger generations.”