美是永恒的喜悦

徐荣木

邵叶道说：“画家是一种孤寂的职业，若一个画家常常周旋于热闹中生活，虽可免去寂寥之苦，然其作品往往会流于平庸。”也许，正是孤独成就了他的艺术高度。

因为一幅画，欣赏一个人，故而成了挚友。

我与画家邵叶道相识已有20多年，以前，他长期在北京、南京、沈阳、甘肃等地创作，前几年应邀回故乡宁波居住，一些嗅觉灵敏的经销商随之开设多家由启功题匾的“叶道轩”画廊。

这些年，他的画赢得了海内外众多藏家的认可与青睐，佳作不断，画廊也负有盛名，慕名前去画廊的人越来越多，有买画、闲聊、求助等，居无宁日，作画自然受到影响，他想逃离蹉跎琐碎。如今，这里大多数时间由他人守着，自己另择它处作画，他想把更多的精力用在创作上。

他陪我走进这近千余平方米的画廊。乍一看，我觉得自己仿佛闯入百花盛开的仙境，到处是飞禽走兽，鸟语花香，蔚为大观。瞧，威风凛凛的老虎，展翅高翔的雄鹰，含苞欲放的牡丹，花丛戏嬉的鸟儿，宛若天仙的美女……百余幅画挂满画廊，真可谓琳琅满目，美不胜收。在这一堂佳制中，从中拣几幅我个人最为欣赏者一叙。

一曰动物类作品。佳作如林，我认为画得最好的首推工笔虎画。如《红日高照添虎威》中的上山虎，傲立山崖，周遭冰天雪地，大雪压松枝，与老虎不惧严寒倔强之态相呼应，具有一种身处恶劣环境而威武不屈的象征。其布局高妙，用笔豪放，而老虎的皮毛、斑纹、胡须皆画得致密纤细，处处照应，丝丝入扣，刻画具体而生动，体现了画家的心细与手巧。其虎逼真若活，既有西洋画之写实，又有中国画之神韵，此画可以说将虎之威猛的精神传出，在当代虎画中能传递这种精神力度的画作并不多见，画笔之神妙，无以复加，此等画让人有惊心动魄之观感。

《壮士抚剑精神生》是一幅畫鹰作品，鹰眼传神，透出坚定，冷视着这个世界，展现出一种威猛之气。毛羽苍色，栩栩如生，双勾谨细，一只雄鹰在重峦叠嶂之上，苍天之下自由地展翅翱翔，搏击雄姿霸悍而粗犷，形体生动而自然，伸展着自已的灵性，其艺术格调清新精致，章法奇特而狂态可掬，令人印象深刻。

二曰花鸟类作品。花鸟类作品皆精致，我比较看中的画作《独占春风》构图奇妙，野外雪天，画家将重墨线条作为牡丹主干，牡丹枝头花蕊工细而繁复，笔墨酣畅，浑厚苍劲，笔笔精到，设色赋彩气韵生动，鲜艳明媚。观者可通过一叶一花感受到大自然的气息和生命的力量，追求自然牡丹与心中牡丹的融合与再造，恰到好处地表现出牡丹的天姿国色。其牡丹颜色之鲜润，真像刚从野外采摘来一般活色生香。这些年，随着画家趣味与追求的不断变化，牡丹题材也处在嬗变之中，画作越发赏心悦目，出人意表，名家的手腕固应如此。如画来画去皆一个模式，难免倒人胃口呢。

三曰山水类作品。中国山水画，宋、元、明发展臻于鼎盛，今人超越不易。古人师法自然，中得心源，以蹈袭为耻。后人靠模仿古人作品为业者不在少数。邵叶道师古而不仿古，独辟蹊径，以创新和出奇制胜，大胆地将西法油画与中国水墨画融合，重塑了大结构大境界的山水画。

最值得欣赏的为西北风情画，《寒山黄华秋景宽》为其代表作之一。深秋原野，远望雪山，近观满山红叶，山脚下一处平缓水泽，溪流淙淙，一对白色和黑色骏马悠闲地在溪边吃草，一牧人骑在白马上，马毛色亮丽，矫健不凡，马与山川动静结合，浑然一体。此画若无牧人骑马衬托，仅为山川风光，就大为失色了。整体设色浓丽，画面浑厚，画家把传统绘画的精神和现代审美情趣巧妙融合，神境想象宏阔壮丽，营造出一种沉稳、隽秀、清幽、祥和的氛围。画作不仅以高超的笔墨语言给人以形象美感，还寄托了画家的思想情感，这种恬静和谐的境界，自由萧散的生活，也许正是画家人格追求最完美的反映吧。

四曰人物类作品。在人物画方面，中西艺术最显著的差异在灵感之别，国画灵感发源于自然，西画则发源于女性。邵叶道擅长画仕女图，也多从自然曲线表情达意，诠释出自己心目中完美女子的样子。在《红粉映楚云》中，一面似桃花的漂亮颀长女子端庄地站在树旁，她头插花朵，身着汉服，红色长袖黑色长裙，胸缀金绣，服饰花纹图案之精雅，胜于今日摩登印花绸，神态含蓄典雅，栩栩欲活，呼之欲出。而汉服之美，也体现出那个时代之强盛。

《德威广大慧眼见真》是一幅杨枝观音画，此类绘画最早见唐代宰相阎立本观音像，真迹不见，其画之石刻碑今藏于普陀山杨枝禅院内。与释迦佛同日生的邵叶道，心地慈仁，见多识广。历代杨枝观音画，免不了有阎立本的痕迹，但邵叶道又作了许多探索创新，观音服饰鲜艳，设色灵幻，富有层次感。右手执杨枝，左手托净瓶，峨冠锦袍，佛像顶上一圆光白圈，佛像端庄妙严，神貌逼真，神情飞动，堪称神来之笔。杨枝观音画为何风靡社会？许是它触动了许多人心底的美好蕴藏吧。

邵叶道说：“画家是一种孤寂的职业，若一个画家常常周旋于热闹中生活，虽可免去寂寥之苦，然其作品往往会流于平庸。”也许，正是孤独成就了他的艺术高度。

“叶道轩”画廊众多佳作，在此不及一一叙述。“美是永恒的喜悦”。画的美妙之处在于透过视觉而直诉观者的心灵。观赏这一幅幅赋予生命的艺术作品，令人愉悦，给我以一种心灵上的享受，我对画家孤寂背后的艰辛付出，有了更深的理解。

Beauty： Eternal Joy

By Xu Rongmu

I met Shao Yedao over 20 years ago. We became friends because of a painting he created and because of the painter. He lived and created paintings in Beijing， Nanjing， Shenyang and Gansu for years before he was invited back to live in Ningbo， his hometown. After he settled down in Ningbo， he set up a gallery name Yedao Studio， an inscription handwritten by Qigong （1912-2005）， a famed sinologist and calligrapher. In fact， there are several galleries in the country all sharing the name handwritten by Qigong. The existence of these galleries indicates that Shao Yedao enjoys a fine reputation among collectors at home and abroad.

If the Yedao Studio galleries in other cities are operated by other people， Shao runs the gallery in Ningbo by himself， but he is no longer engaged in day-to-day administration. As his reputation spreads， the gallery attracts many visitors. Some visitors want to take a look at Shaos works and will make a purchase if they like something there. Some visitors just want to while away time by chatting with Shao. Some visitors come to seek assistance. He cant afford time for these daily things. He wants to dedicate his time and energy to painting.

On view at Shaos nearly 1，000-m2 gallery in Ningbo are various kinds of paintings， which showcase Shaos artistry and versatility. I have visited the gallery several times and some works appeal in particular to me.

Big creatures such as animals and hawks are a category Shao specializes. I prefer the tigers he paints in the  style， a style that focuses on very small details. Some critics admire Shaos tigers and go so far as to say that he is the best tiger painter in China.

Shao is excellent in painting flowers and birds， which is another category in traditional Chinese painting. Like some artists who focus exclusively on painting one kind of plant or flower such as plum flowers or lotus flowers， Shao paints peonies. Some Chinese believe that peonies should be the national flower of China. The flower， as believed by some people， symbolizes prosperity， longevity， wealth， harmony. As Shao is innovative and versatile， he paints peonies in a way that is unprecedented. His breakaway from stereotypes has earned him a lot of followers.

Shaos landscape painting is also wonderful. Landscape painting flourished in the Song （960-1279）， the Yuan （1279-1368） and the Ming （1368-1644） dynasties， establishing some rules and norms which have been copied and upheld by many artists. Shao does not copy. Innovative and creative， he introduces oil painting techniques into Chinese ink painting. His landscapes present a grand structure rarely seen before. Unlike ancient landscape artists who lived in the south and preferred landscapes in the south， Shao has created quite a few paintings depicting mountains in the northwest of China.

Shao also paints female figures and religious images. One of the religious images he paints is Guanyin， an East Asian bodhisattva associated with compassion as venerated by Mahayana Buddhists. Shaos portrayal of the Goddess of Mercy is very popular with believers. Guanyin has been a subject matter since the Tang Dynasty （618-907） and most artists followed more or less the norms created by Yan Liben， a portrait artist of the Tang. Shao has introduced some innovative touches to the portraits of Guanyin he creates.

Shao considers painting as a solitary dedication. If an artist loves to engage himself in the buzz of everyday life， which， though， could possibly prevent him from solitude to some degree， he could easily get lost in mediocrity. Shao keeps himself away from the excitement of everyday life and pursues creativity in his art. That explains how and why he has accomplished so much in his art.

For me， a visit to his gallery is big joy， for beauty is eternal joy. Watching his works on display at his gallery in Ningbo， I have had a good time and have a deeper understanding of the artists hard work.