藝彩人生 陳榮和水繪台灣風土

陳榮和(1928-2005)生於屏東,以水彩畫第一名畢業於師大美術系第一屆,是台灣第一代在國內接受美術四年制大學教育的畫家,曾入選省展、台陽展、教員美展.同輩的許多水彩畫家,因著潮流放棄最初的選擇轉向油畫創作,而陳榮和一生堅持水彩六十多年的數量質量,以及自1973年起,作品連續11次入選日本水彩畫會,並在東京都美術館展出的紀錄,他確實是90年代台灣傑出的中堅輩水彩畫名家;不只因為熟稔的技巧,更因他將台灣各個熟悉的小所在,營造成值得歌頌的「壯闊的風土」.台北市立美術館、高雄市立美術館、台北馬階醫院、日本丸紅商社都有收藏他的作品。

陳榮和青少年時期,就私淑藍蔭鼎與石川欽一郎的畫作及圖片.在校期間師承廖繼春、張義雄、馬白水.他從廖繼春那裡學來“掌握亂中有序”的原則,總是自由塗繪到心中所要的畫面呈現為止.在創作人格與色彩上深受廖繼春的影響,素描主要由張義雄一手訓練.師大畢業後加入第九水門畫室,撿河邊樹枝燒成炭筆,自製玩具擺攤賣來買畫紙,刻苦做畫家夢的師生們形成了「河邊畫會」。

畢業後,陳榮和當遍了台灣南北中學校的美術教師,如屏東女中、台南光華女中、淡水初中學、台北市立士林商職;長期的停留,比多數為了寫生而短暫停留的畫家,更能生動描繪在地的風土人情.南從屏東椰林、台南舊街、嘉義農村，北到永樂町、淡水河、基隆港,他的畫作記錄著台灣地貌的變化.除了當老師,陳榮和還替日本Pentel美術用品開拓台灣市場,不僅帶來新式的繪畫顏料與用品,具象抽象繪畫形式的示範,也開了台灣美術老師畫裸女的窄門.與畫家老師們把酒言歡,使他的畫作自然呈現出醉醺醺的情調,自由而不散漫.用色像紅葡萄酒般香醇,亂筆似在半醉半醒中完成,為台灣風景披上浪漫醉人的色彩.從商後讓他更是畫遍台灣大小角落; 出差日本使他有機會目睹當代繪畫潮流,早期南台灣要得知日本的新潮美術訊息,大家第一個想到的就是陳榮和。

陳榮和早期作品筆觸輕淡色彩明亮,可以看到石川和藍蔭鼎的影子,他們三位都走遍台灣,以水彩描繪台灣的風景.70年代與日本水彩畫家不破彰到南台灣寫生,畫風多少受他的影響.日本水彩畫會審查員在1973年發表文章說:「每次跟陳君一起到淡水寫生,他喜歡用在當地遊玩的少年作背景,來畫那些精彩的景點,替當地觀光做宣傳,他真是一位熱心的畫家」,「陳榮和的透明水彩,是正統英國式描法,以現代的感覺來處理,素描基礎正確,色彩乾脆明快,獲得大部分評審的青睞入選,他是未來可期待的水彩畫名家。」

陳榮和研究日本歷史文學,熱愛音樂電影歌唱,多方藝術的涵養,長期薰陶著他內在的創作力.他中期的作品混合使用透明和不透明水彩,使他的色彩筆觸趨於強烈厚重,有些作品看起來更像油畫.他加入黑墨、粉彩、鉛筆、炭筆、黑色簽字筆在水彩畫裡,就像一個聰明的老頑童,在軌道外玩著創作的遊戲,但作品同樣呈現對台灣山水屋瓦深厚的情感.他善於營造亂中有序的主題,以細碎的短筆、富麗的色彩,或渲染或平塗,表現亂而充滿生命力的菜市場、港口及巷弄的攤子; 他多樣的色彩,清淡,厚重,香醇,艷麗,描繪的不是閒雲野鶴的人間仙境,而是古意勞碌的人間煙火.他鍾情於經濟起飛中的台灣農村市井,都市發展中的新面貌與流落中的舊時代,交錯出現在同一幅畫中,有著毀滅與重建之間,一種物換星移的嘆息.從1989到2001年,因赴美探親,使他的畫作充滿熱情璀燦繽紛.他晚年的作品更咨意不羁,然而,正統學院派的背景,終究使他回到自由寫實的路上。

1970年因為學校宿舍失火,他之前的作品全部燒毀,目前可見1970年至2002年中風前,32年間的近千幅作品,見證了陳榮和的藝彩人生.他經歷過時代巨輪與文化衝突的動盪;承襲中外前輩畫家的養份,融合多元藝術及台日美文化的薰陶,發展出獨特的個人風格,為台灣水彩畫的發展脈絡,留下精彩動人的篇章。

Life in Watercolor - Chen Zong Ho’s Memories of Taiwan

Born in Pingtung, Chen Zong Ho (1928-2005) was one of the first generation of painters in Taiwan to receive a four-year university education in fine arts. He was also a member of the first session of students to graduate from the fine arts department of the National Taiwan Normal University and he ranked first in watercolor major. He was elected by the Province Exhibition, Tai Yang Exhibition and Teachers Exhibition. While it was a fad that many watercolor painters of the same generation had abandoned watercolor painting for oil painting; Chen Zong Ho had persisted and thrived in watercolor painting for more than sixty years, the quality and quantity of his paintings, and the record of being selected for eleven consecutive time by the prestigious Japan Watercolor Society to display at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum since 1973 proved that, he was an outstanding mid-generation watercolor artist of Taiwan in the 90’. Not only did he have tremendous painting skills, but also was talented at converting small local places into praise-worthy “magnificent scenes'' throughout his paintings. In addition, his works are collected by the Taipei Fine Art Museum, Kaoshiung Fine Art Museum, Marubeni Corporation Taipei Branch, and Taipei Mackay Memorial Hospital.

Chen Zong Ho self-studied in his youth from the paintings and the pictures of Lan Yin Ding and Japanese painter Ishikawa Kinichiro. When he was a student of NTNU, he was taught by Liao Chi Chun, Chang Yi Hsiung, and Ma Bai Shui. Chen Zong Ho learned the principle from Liao Chi Chun to create orderly theme out of chaos, applying brushworks freely until the effect he wanted were presented. He was deeply influenced by Liao Chi Chun in the style formation and color, and his sketch skill was mainly trained by Chang Yi Hsiung. After graduation, he joined “the Ninth Watergate Painting Studio” to continue his learning. He would pick up the tree branches along the Tamsui riverside, burn them to make charcoal pens, and sell self-made toys on the street to raise money for drawing papers. He, as well as other artists in the studio, would work hard to fulfill their dreams of being inspiring artists, and they formed the renowned ‘Riverside Painters Association’.

Chen Zong Ho worked as an art teacher in high schools all over Taiwan after he graduated, such as Pingtung Girl’s High School, Tainan Guanghua Girl’s High School, Tamsui Junior High School and Shilin High School of Commerce. His long stay at each location enabled him to depict the local people and scenery much more deeply and vividly than other painters who only stayed a short time for outdoor sketching. From Pingtung Coconut Grove, Tainan Old Street and Chiayi Farm of the south, to Yongrakucho, Danshui River and Keelung Harbor of the north, his paintings tell the stories of Taiwan's scenic progress over the years. In addition to being a teacher, Chen Zong Ho was also the advocate for the ‘Pentel Japan Art Supplies Company’ in building its market in Taiwan. Not only did he introduce new painting tools, presented demonstrations of concrete and abstract painting styles to Taiwan, but also created the opportunities for the conservative art teachers in Taiwan to paint nude models in the 60’s. They would often chat and drink together, his paintings naturally presented a look of being drunk, free but still organized; rendering was as mellow as red wine, and unruly brushwork seemed to perform in a state of half drunk and half awake. The scenery of Taiwan depicted in Chen Zong Ho’s paintings was covered with romantic and intoxicating colors. Chen Zong Ho established his own company later, promoting business enabled him to paint every corner of Taiwan. He also witnessed the new artistic trends during business trips to Japan, when people in southern Taiwan in those days were trying to learn about the latest art information, the first-person people mentioned was Chen Zong Ho.

Chen Zong Ho’s early brushstrokes were light and bright, the features of Ishikawa’s and Lan Yin Ding’s can be seen in his paintings, all three of them had traveled extensively throughout Taiwan to depict the landscape in watercolor. In the 70’s, Chen Zong Ho accompanied Fuwa Akira, the famed Japanese watercolor painter, down to Pingtung and Qishan in southern Taiwan for his painting tour each year, therefore, Chen Zong Ho’s style of painting was somewhat influenced by Akira. In 1973, one of the judges of the Japan Watercolor Society released an article: ‘Every time I went with Chen Zong Ho to Tamsui for outdoor painting, he liked to depicted those amazing sites by using young people who hung out there as the background for his works, as well as to promote the tourism for locality, his enthusiasm of his hometown was touching.’ Also said: ‘Chen Zong-Ho's transparent watercolor is a British-orthodox painting style rendered in contemporary sensibility with correct sketching basis, crisp and clear colors. His paintings were elected by most of the judges, he's a prospective master of watercolor in the future.’

Chen Zong Ho was knowledgeable about Japanese history and literature, also loved music, movie and singing, the cultivation of multi-art was the long-term edification of his inner creativity. Chen Zong Ho started to mix transparent with opaque watercolors in his paintings at his midlife, making his colors progressively stronger and thicker, with some of his watercolor works even looking more like oil paintings. He had tried a variety of painting supplies in watercolor painting, such as applying black ink, pastel, pencil, charcoal pen, and fine tip black signing pen, just like a clever old urchin playing creative games, but his paintings kept the same deep unchanged love of Taiwan’s landscape. Chen Zong Ho was good at creating orderly themes out of chaos, applying short dash brushworks and rich colors, either smudge rendering or flat smearing, to depict the messiness and vitality of traditional food markets, ports and food stands in alleys. His colors included light, heavy, mellow, and passionate, what he presented was not a fairyland, but a plain living environment of humble and hard-working people. He also loved to depict the progress of villages and cities during the economic boom in Taiwan; a new developing city look, and an old drifting era look were intertwined to appear in the same painting, giving a sigh on the rapid changes between destruction and reconstruction of landscape. From 1989 to 2001, Chen Zong Ho visited relatives in the United States, it made his painting enthusiastic, lustrous, and colorful. His works during his later years was even more willful and unrestrained, however, the background of his orthodox art education eventually brought him back to the realism.

In 1970, all his paintings were destroyed in a fire, his remaining works are from 1970 to 2002 when he suffered from a stroke. About one thousand paintings created in 32 years were the witness of Chen Zong Ho’s ‘Life in Watercolor’. He experienced the constant changing of the various eras and the conflicts of cultures, the reflection on his paintings were an unique personal styles that integrated multiple arts and cultures of Taiwan, Japan and the United States with the nourishment inheritances of his predecessors, Chen Zong Ho left a stunning chapter for the development lineage of Taiwan watercolor paintings.