The color system of Chinese painting is built on unique Chinese philosophy, stressing the symbolic significance of colors and the presentation of existing colors. The philosophy of “different colors for different categories” was obviously performed in green landscape painting. Early Chinese landscape paintings were basically in “red and bluish green”. Later, colors with personal character were added, like bluish green landscape painting by Li Sixun and Li Zhaodao in Tang dynasty, green and golden landscape painting by painters in Song dynasty. Till Ming dynasty, color use had new development; painters applied lighter colors and integrated the practice of literati painting, greatly influencing contemporary painting. In today’s diverse art environment, green landscape painting has broken traditional rules and continuously created new painting styles. Under such circumstances, a group of excellent young and middle-aged contemporary landscape painters emerge. Among them, Deng Shaobing has his significant place.
Initially, reading Deng Shaobing’s landscape painting, we can feel a blended flavor of the ancient and the present, profound and roughly simple but also bright and vivid. His traditional brushwork fully presents the tenacity and density of lines while his color use tend to be pure and bright to present some ornamental function. In this respect, Cloudy Mountain and Stream, Wuyi Mountain in Spring and Cloudy Wuling Mountain are representatives. It's also worth noting that Deng’s landscape paintings carry some flavor of literati painting. Some works are kind of slight freehand style. He has created some freehand paintings such Refreshing Sound, Autumn Landscape and Hongshan Mountain in Interweaving Rain. In structure, Deng’s landscapes are fairly grand and magnificent, quite different from exquisite literati landscape painting. He is very skillful and free between fine and free brushwork.
The harmonious integration of detailed beauty and elegant flavor expands the creation space for landscape painting. For example, his High Mountains and Deep Valleys keeps the style of Song dynasty, remarkable for well-arranged lines. In respect of hue art, he spreads with clean color and intersperses it with blue, green and red colors to contrast with golden color. In his large work Cloudy Gorge, the horizontal composition with bird's-eye view presents a magnificent scenery. The strength and sharpness of lines are given full play. Long lines sketches the rocks, supplemented with green color to spot out mosses. Thus, the general grandeur is structured. On this basis, bluish green, green, red, reddish brown colors are dyed layer upon layer to make the color effect fine and glossy yet heavy and vigorous.
Different from the two works mentioned above, Cloudy Wuling Mountain and Cloudy Mountain and Stream stress more on the charm of lines and the misty effect of color dyeing. In Cloudy Wuling Mountain, rocks and houses are shaped with free brushwork, to contrast with ornamental clouds. Thus a tension is formed between the two. In Cloudy Mountain and Stream, it is closer to slight free brushwork of Song dynasty. In his another work Misty Mountain and Pine Trees, the composition is marvelous. Both the vigorousness of steep mountain and the enchanting postures of pine trees are presented.
Refreshing Sound and Autumn Landscape are both slight free brushwork. The hue of Autumn Landscape is classical, elegant and pure. In style, such free brushwork eliminates the tension brought by the pure color and thin and dense lines but outstands the flavor of brush ink. However, Den Shaobing never cuts off the discipline of language but seeks for a balance between the cleanness of brush use and the elegance and profoundness of ink color. Therefore, Deng’s free brushwork landscape painting doesn’t stay far away from the traditional style yet keeps some orderly variations.
Deng Shaobing’s painting language has been deeply rooted in the tradition. His skillful master of traditional language form, his profound understanding of traditional philosophy and his good understanding of contemporary aesthetic interest render him switch between fine brushwork and free brushwork easily and set him free in the creation while enjoying Chinese painting with brush and ink.