《中国现代花鸟画全集》(河北教育出版社，2002年出版)罗列近百年来(二十世纪)中国杰出的花鸟画家佳作，百花齐放，多姿多彩。当中岭南派巨匠，除创始人高剑父、高奇峰、陈树人，还有几位代表画家，如赵少昂、杨善深、关山月、黎明、黄独峰的作品，亦各有特色。黎明入编作品之一是收藏于香港艺术馆于1960年创作的《孔雀》，这是新宋院画的代表作。又如较早期于1949年画的另一幅《孔雀》、1951年的《唱随》都是黎明认真钻研宋院体花鸟画的典雅代表作，也就是实践高剑父所倡导“宋院画的现代研究”之“新宋院”画法的典范。黎明从1944年起在高剑父指导下从事宋院画的研究，从钻研清初恽南田、沈南苹等花鸟画再远溯宋院风骨，并致力写生，师法自然，建立个人的艺术风格。他的花鸟翎毛作品如雄鹰、鹅雁、家禽、野鸟、孔雀、鹤鹭等设色艳丽典雅而充满生气，一丝不苟而形神兼备，一洗传统院画刻板柔弱之通病，而形成“新宋院画”的艺术特色。

　　几十年来，黎明以善画孔雀饮誉画坛，这本《黎明彩墨孔雀》选印了近四十张黎明的孔雀画。透过这批作品，可以看到他在各个时期孔雀画所展示的不同艺术手法，工意交融，彩墨相映，工笔、写意、半工半意，无一不精。所展示的孔雀生意灵动，造型生动，笔精墨妙，墨和色、虚实节奏在用笔的疾徐之间流露无遗;在羽翼的结构上精而造疏，简而意足，自成家法，特别在描绘孔雀的摇曳长尾上，笔触豪迈遒劲，挥洒自如，可说是前无古人。

　　编于《当代实力派画家艺术研究丛书•黎明彩墨孔雀》封面的《好运北京》一画，是黎先生特为北京奥运喝采而作，并将应邀展出于北京中国美术馆。2008年奥运会在北京召开是神州盛事，画家借笔墨抒发他的爱国情怀，构图新颖、别致、艳丽。画幅中三对翠羽金辉的孔雀，栩栩如生，其中两只白孔雀，用粉之妙，令人赞叹。历代画家精于用粉(白色)可谓凤毛麟角，而黎明素以善于用粉见称。1972年《白孔雀》现藏于香港文化博物馆，便是敷粉佳作，其处理白粉干湿浓淡、层次分明，达到白分八彩，笔法井然，确是难能可贵。

　　画集中的彩墨孔雀均各有特色，例如今年初在美国展出的《锦绣和鸣》重彩绚烂，艳而不俗;2008年的新作《顾影》写孔雀临流顾影，别有创意;《帝苑珍禽》灵动活跃，表现孔雀行走在草树丛中，典雅清和，较之前人的浓妆艳抹之重彩，也就有雅俗之分吧。画家题识云：“宋徽宗尝命画师画孔雀升墩障屏，皆不称旨;谓凡孔雀升墩，必先左脚，卿等所图，俱先右脚。余画孔雀数十年，翠羽金花，机趣横生;意到笔随，心手相应。未尝刻意求似，岂复究其先左脚、右脚耶!”画家这段话，说出他的心声，成竹在胸，妙悟自然，在继承传统的基础上勇于突破。例如1997年的《桐花孔雀》，1998年的《俪影》(番禺博物馆藏)，2006年的《翠羽金花》、《石榴孔雀》便是写意之作，《和鸣》(香港中文大学藏)则是半工半意。前人云“甜熟不是自然，佻巧不是工致，鲁莽不是苍老，拙恶不是高古，丑怪不是神奇”(清人方熏《山静居画论》)，工笔画最易流于刻板。黎明认为画家首先必须观察实物，多写生，清晰地理解雀鸟的生态结构，以诗人的情怀，以浪漫主义的手法，调动艺术手段，通过笔墨、敷彩、衬托、渲染描绘对象，主张破旧立新，有时不妨突破前人的构图法则的清规戒律，我写我法，尤须不断尝试变法更新。这就是黎明坚持创新的理念。

　　贾德江先生在《当代名家花鸟画库》中评介黎明的作品时说：“中国工笔花鸟画是一个传承有序的画科，在创作上重法度、讲规矩，要求画家察物要精细入微，描绘要精益求精，行笔勾细整饬，赋色明丽典雅。这一艺术风范早在五代两宋时期就取得了高度成就，甚至成为后世的典范。要在前人的基础上，再行突破，自然不是容易的事情。为了使这一古老的画科注入新的生命，黎明先生进行了多方面的思考和探索。”又说：“他的画是传统的，精神是时代的，在突破宋院体画的传统模式中又吸收西画长处，色墨并重，墨彩流溢，散发着传统精神与现代意识相结合的审美气度。”黎明具有深厚的传统笔墨功力、敏锐的观察力、丰富的想象力和刻意求变的精神，近年的新作，又有更多的突破。例如《锦羽清辉，凌风高翔》描绘一双孔雀，墨彩淋漓，展翅高飞，给人以耳目一新之感。《霓裳歌舞庆回归》图中雀群载歌载舞，抒发作者赤子之情，是对回归祖国的颂歌。此作于泼彩中见笔墨，灵动活泼，不落俗套。《孔雀》画作以书入画，笔法遒劲，突显了中国画的笔墨特色，背景以泼彩花点，融汇西法，别具一格。而《赏樱图》以泼彩法写樱花，兼具东西方绘画之法，更发挥岭南派渲染之长，情景交融，描绘了充满诗情画意的境界。在黎明作品中，曾见有多张百鸟图，论者谓“千姿百态，趣尽天然，一改传统花鸟的折枝和小品画法，使花鸟画从狭小的宫苑中解放出来”。画集中也选印了两张大景花鸟画，如《紫荆花开百鸟和鸣》和另一幅《百鸟图》的局部，让我们可以欣赏到飞鸣雀跃、锦艳绚丽的花鸟世界。

　　原载《当代实力派画家艺术研究——黎明彩墨孔雀》2008年北京

　　颖研•远东文化艺术交流中心编审

The Innovative Style of Court Paintings in Song Dynasty

——On the Coloured Ink Works of Peacocks by Lingnan Maestro Lai Ming

　　Modern Chinese Flower and Bird Painting Album (Hebei Education Press, 2002)collects the masterpieces of outstanding Chinese painters of flowers and birds in the 20th Century, including Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng, Chen Shuren, three maestros of Lingnan painting and works by several representative painters such as Zhao Shao’ang, Yang Shanshen, Guan Shanyue, Lai Ming, and Huang Dufeng, which reflect the painters’ different artistic styles. One of the Lai Ming’s works collected in the Album is “Peacocks” created in 1960, which is now a collection at Hong Kong Museum of Art. This painting is a representative work in new Song court painting style. Other masterpieces by Lai include another “Peacocks” created earlier in 1949 and “Singing Along” in 1951, which demonstrate the painting techniques of “new song court” advocated by Gao Jianfu. Since 1944, Lai Ming engaged in the study of court paintings in the Song dynasty under the guidance of Gao Jianfu. Having studied in depth on Song court painting and its features, Lai has established his own style. He paints flowers, birds and feather vividly such as eagles, wild geese, poultry, wild birds, peacocks, egrets etc in glamourous and elegant colours. His paintings, meticulously created, get rid of the monotonous style of traditional court painting and have formed the unique style of “new song court painting”. Over the decades, Lai Ming has gained his reputation in the painting circle for his peacock paintings. Coloured Ink Paintings of Peacocks by Lai Ming presents nearly 40 peacock paintings by him. These works demonstrate Lai’s varied painting techniques at different stages. Lai’s ingenious use of ink colours results in his vividly drawn peacocks with detailed depiction of feather and wings, and particularly the swinging long tails of peacocks. His vigorous yet free painting style is unique.

　　The painting “Good Luck Beijing” on the cover of Contemporary Top Painters –Coloured Ink Peacock Painting by Lai Ming is specially painted by Mr. Lai for the celebration of Beijing Olympic Games and will be displayed at the National Arts Museum of China in Beijing. The 2008 Olympic Games held in Beijing was a great event in China. The painter therefore expressed his patriotism by his paint brush,presenting a brilliant painting with three pairs of vividly drawn peacocks. In this painting, Lai uses the white colour skillfully to create the two beautiful white peacocks.Painters good at the use of white are rarely seen throughout the history, but Lai has long been known for his good use of it. His “White Peacock”, finished in 1972 and now collected at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, is an excellent work that reflects Lai’s ingenious usage of the white colour.

　　The coloured ink peacocks in the album have their own characteristics. For example, “Beautiful Birdsong” which was exhibited in the United States earlier this year emphasises brilliant colours, whilst “Gazing at the Shadow”, Lai’s latest work in 2008 creatively describes a peacock gazing at its own shadow in the river; “precious Birds in the Royal Garden” vividly shows peacocks walking in a grove, The atmosphere is peaceful and elegant, which is totally different from the rich and showy style of his predecessors. As the painter says, “Emperors in the Song dynasty had strict rules for the painting approach of peacocks. But for me, having drawn peacocks for decades, I just paint according to my own feelings. I didn’t purposely pursue resemblance to the original.” What Lai has said reflects his natural style and his courage to innovate on the basis of heritage. When it comes to his works that express his own feelings, “Paulownia and Peacocks” in 1997, “Mutual Regard” in 1998 (collection at Panyu Museum),“Verdant Feather and Golden Flower” and “Pomegranate and Peacock” in 2006 are good examples. It is commented by some predecessors that fine brushworks could easily get dull and monotonous. Lai Ming holds that painters must first observe and practice, knowing more about the body structure of birds, and then adopt appropriate artistic approaches to depict the object in a poetic and romantic mood. Sometimes it is no harm to break through the predecessors’ rules to innovate. This is the innovative concept that Lai insists.

　　“The art of Chinese flower and bird paintings values heritage and rules. It requires painters to be good observers, depicting the objects meticulously in an elegant tone. Such artistic style has had great achievement early in the Song dynasty and even become a paragon for posterity. It is not an easy task to make a breakthrough on the predecessors’ foundation. To infuse new life into such an old painting area, Mr. Lai Ming has done lots of thinking and exploration,” Mr. Jia Dejiang comments on Mr.Lai’s works and says, “His works are traditional but his spirit is modern. Whilst he breaks through the existing mode of Song court paintings, he absorbs the strengths of Western paintings, which contributes to a perfect combination of traditional spirit and modern sense,” Mr. Jia continues.

　　Lai Ming possesses solid traditional painting skills, acute observation, rich imagination and the will to pursue changes. He has made more breakthroughs in his recent new works. For instance, the fresh and new “Beautiful Feather Soars in the Wind” describes a pair of peacocks spread their wings and soar to great heights. “Song and Dance for Return to China” expresses the author’s blessing upon Macao’s return to its motherland. “Peacocks”, created with powerful brushwork, highlights the feature of ink usage in Chinese paintings. It combines Western painting techniques with Chinese ones to form a unique style. “Admiring Cherry Blossoms” depicts cherry blossoms with the approach of ink splashing. The work presents both painting techniques of the East and the West, more effectively reflects the strengths of the Lingnan School, and creates a world of poetry and painting. Lai Ming has several paintings of “Hundreds of Birds”, which were commented as “interesting and natural, having changed the traditional style of painting, releasing the flower and bird paintings from the narrow royal garden.” The two big flower and bird paintings published in the album, such as “Redbud Blossom and Birdsong” and part of another “Hundreds of Birds” painting, allow us to explore the wonderful world of flowers and birds.

　　Ying Yan

　　This article briefly explores the innovative style of Lai Ming’s court paintings of the Song dynasty. It

　　is hoped that Mr. Lai will open up a broader and brighter world for his painting art.