从西方绘画的发展史来看，面对自然直接写生的创作方法经久不衰，从达·芬奇、安格尔、库尔贝到印象派和后印象派的诸多画家，大师们利用写生进行创作，为人类留下了大量的艺术珍宝。面对自然，是做自然的奴隶，还是以独立的姿态，充满信心地与自然对话，这往往是写生作品成功的关键。色彩是绘画艺术语言中最生动、最敏感的视觉因素。写生中的光线和色彩尤为重要。这里的色彩不是物理学意义上的不同的光波，而是经过画家主观提炼，用来表达形象的载体，被赋予了情感表达的张力。

　　物我合一—风景写生的意义

　　自然界千变万化，蕴涵着无限丰富的美。对绘画艺术而言，写生具有十分重要的意义，它的功能也是多样化的。它既可以培养和锻炼正确的观察能力和表现能力，又可以为创作积累丰富的素材，还可以直接成为完整的艺术品。石涛说，“夫画者，形天地万物者也”，绘画就是以形象表现天地万物的。自然是人格和艺术的启示物、象征物，风景写生是画家与自然的融合、体验与提炼的过程，如果把风景写生的作用仅仅理解为机械描摹自然，这显然是对写生意义的一种低估和误解，对于绘画尤其是风景画，写生的重要性怎么形容都不会过分。古今中外的优秀画家，其作品都体现了作者对大自然的热爱。

　　莫兰迪一生的创作题材都是在画着几只瓶子和波罗纳郊外的风景。他花了一辈子的时间研究这些瓶子和周围生活的景色，当人们问及他的创作情况时，莫兰迪说：“那种由看得见的世界，也就是形体的世界所唤起的感觉和图像，是很难，甚至根本无法用定义和词汇来描述。事实上，它与日常生活中所感受的完全不一样，因为那个视觉所及的世界是由形体、颜色、空间和光线所决定的……我相信，没有任何东西比我们所看到的世界更抽象，更真实。”从他作品中那些反复排列、形状单纯的瓶子就可以完全理解他这段话的含义。这些画面使我们明白，作品创作的题材并不重要，重要的是作品是否让人有想法。

　　水彩画家萨金特除肖像画之外，常画水彩风景。他的水彩风景画，多即兴速写，特点突出，水分淋漓，色彩凝重而悦目，在表现光色效果上有独到之处。他从不描绘某些细节，画水中的帆船，简练概括，水色交融，富动荡感觉;红、黄、蓝、绿似直接使用，艳而不燥，浑厚之下反而透明，这是他晚期作品的特点，从客观的描绘代之以主观的表现，可见对于光、色、形的表达，已达到了更高更美的境界。

　　古人学画提出要“师造化”。这说明画家想创作出好的作品，最应该以大自然为师。在艺术史中，以写生为终生追求的艺术大师比比皆是。如印象派，他们留传于世的大量作品几乎都是在对人物或对景写生中完成的，他们摆脱了陈陈相因的古典画派和因沉湎于中世纪骑士文学而陷入矫揉造作之中的浪漫主义，转而提倡户外写生。而中国现代艺术大师黄宾虹年已古稀之时依然大量游历写生，以一种求道的虔诚，参悟自然，探求新的属于自己的绘画语言。黄宾虹说：“作画当以大自然为师。若胸有丘壑，运笔便自如畅达矣。”在写生中才能把“师古人”与“师造化”结合起来，使学到的间接经验(古人的与外国的传统)得到印证和检验，才能认清哪些是精华，哪些是糟粕，哪些是有生命力的，哪些已不完全适用或者根本用不上了，从而发现前人所没发现的新的规律，积累新的感受，然后对传统“有所增益，有所删除”，以达到在艺术上的变革与创新。

　　“自然是一种人格，是一种力量，也是一种艺术”，由大自然的任意无心引发，中国士大夫表现出师法自然式的率性天真、逍遥适宜的人格风范。而在艺术上，中国美学追求自然的不事雕琢的审美观。写生是画家艺术活动和艺术创作的基础。画家以炽热的爱去面对大自然，投入到大自然中去，不能仅仅只有激动的心情，在写生前首先要认真，要真诚地全身心地去观察，不要急于动笔，要用心灵去触摸景物，从景物中捕捉其脉络，寻求其美妙情态，领悟其精神，全力调动自己的主观情绪，做到情景交融，物我两忘，“物我合一”。这样你的线条，你的色彩，你所勾画的形象就会生动、有情，观者在读你的画时就会受到感染，为其所动。

　　在色彩风景写生中，主观与客观缺一不可。只有主观激情但缺乏客观技巧的作品没有生命力;而纯粹描摹客观色彩却不投入主观情感的作品也无异于匠人之作。只有把握主观与客观的关系，懂得穿越自然表象而察其实质，善于取舍和概括，才能渐入艺术的佳境。就主、客观的写生因素而言，当我们看到客观物象中的各种色彩关系时，一种是小心翼翼地把它描下来，看见什么就画什么，认为这才是客观的表达对象;另一种是把看到的物象色彩按形体规律进行大胆的归纳，按色彩的冷暖规律进行夸张。两者都是从自然中得来的真实，但两种写生的结果却有着根本的区别：前者属于客观中的真实，后者则是主观的艺术真实，是具有意味的真实。一幅艺术作品如果没有激情，它就没有生命力;若只有激情，没有适当的技巧与之相匹配，亦不能成为真正的作品。艺术家只有通过敏锐的观察力和判断力，理性地驾驭自己的情感，充分运用艺术规律让自己的激情升华，才能创造出好的作品。

　　“外师造化，中得心源”，造化就是自然天地、创作原料。但是画家必须将他从客观事物中获得的原始素材，经过个人的专业素养进行提炼，更重要的是要有主观的情感表达，这就是中得心源。一个艺术家在艺术实践的道路上，必须在生活中汲取新鲜营养，才能更好地发展。有经验的画家都知道，自然的微妙丰富和生动和谐，以及由此所引发的创造激情和艺术启示，是任何间接方式都难以取代的，更是凭空臆想所不可企及的。所以，“写生”对画家具有极大的吸引力，画家都对此情有独钟。

　　亲密接触—风景写生的特点

　　“上山下乡”，“面向自然，对景写生”。在与大自然的亲密接触中，摆脱画室的沉闷，认识生活的真实，体验自然的清新，把真切的视觉感受和心灵的悸动，物化为艺术的形象，创造出真正反映生活的写生作品，给苍白的当代绘画，注入一股亮丽的色彩。

　　1.临场感和信息量

　　面向自然对景写生同面对照片闭门制作在创作方式上最大的不同之处，就是那种临场感，以及亲临现场所获得的巨大信息量，这是准确快速传达作者主观感受的最佳途径，通过对自然的仔细观察和真切体验，并且加入作者的深切热爱之情，才能使作品在自然、画家与欣赏者之间架起沟通的桥梁。表现自然景物并不是风景写生的唯一目的，重要的是借景抒情，表达自己的艺术理想。表现好一个地方的景色，不只是技术及形式上的问题，也是一种对于生活的感悟和认识。“天人合一”，是中国哲学的重要命题，也是儒家对人与自然关系的最终回答。而在老庄哲学中，“道”就是师法天地，师法万物，师法自然。老子云：“人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然”，道家的艺术主张是以自然为最高审美法则。智者乐山，仁者乐水，悉心体悟自然，从自然中得到启示。体验生活对艺术家来说是重要的，生活是创作的源泉。创作中的建筑、色彩、结构，甚至是特定环境中的特定光线、氛围等都是以客观存在为依据的，画家的创作往往不是单一题材，很多是人物、景物、静物等的结合。

　　美就是恰当的东西。如果是在适当的时间、地点出现的东西，就是美的，创作中也是这样，没有日常的写生积累，就有可能犯错误。米勒谈论过儒勒·勃列东画的乡村少女：“她们太漂亮了，放在农村不合适。”离开劳动的漂亮，就不是农民的美。这显然就是缺少写生经验的严重结果，你的人物和环境根本不和谐。而写生作为与生活、自然交流的手段，常常会激起人们说“真话”的激情，从中找到适合表达自己的语言。在写生中以自己的品性去真诚地体验生活，去把握作品可视的因素，就是画家真正用自己的真诚去实现生活与艺术的联系，去把握艺术高于生活的格调。

　　面向自然对景写生，大自然的山川魂魄之中蕴藏着神秘的原始生命，蕴藏着宏伟的壮丽美感，同样也蕴含着崇高的精神内涵。到大自然中去感受生活的壮美，到生活中去体验时代的豪情，这种临场感和信息量，在冷冰冰的照片之中是体会不到的。复杂的自然环境丰富和拓展了作者的材料表现，能提高作者面对自然进行整理、概括、提炼的能力，写生极大地拓展了表现思路，有时甚至会出现意外的惊喜效果。郑板桥“眼中之竹、胸中之竹、手中之竹”之说，就是化实为虚、化虚为实的过程，也就是以实带虚，以虚明实。

　　2.创造性和多样性

　　对景写生也可以说是一种情境创作，在一个鲜活而实在的情境中，新的生机激励创造的热情，鲜活的养分滋润、陪护着你的感觉，你在捕捉最直接的印象，身心很快融入到那个环境之中。这种融入能营造出表达对象时的亢奋的心理氛围，从而起到催化、促进创作的作用。对景写生更多地依靠直觉，于是画得更直接、更感性，这会逼着你去忘记原来的条条框框，按部就班的程式化制作过程被现场感击溃，时常会出现一种与以往不同的画面效果，从而产生质的飞跃，体现出一种创造性。创造性体现在源于生活而又高于生活的艺术形式里，它可能与自然景物有一定距离。

　　但毕竟艺术的真实不同于自然的真实，对景写生表现的是对自然的感受，是艺术家自己内心的一种真实。如果想画得和自然一样，那在画室里画照片就会来得更容易些。照片只是一种记录，写生是一种感受的表达。由于每位艺术家艺术观念和审美取向的不同，对景物的感受也不同，因此形成了不同的艺术风格。对景写生在形式风格上绝不是单一的。比如:莫奈用细微的冷暖色调表现几个干草堆在阳光下的绚丽色彩，塞尚用一种内在结构表现圣多克山的坚实和宏伟，凡·高用独特的曲线及颜色表现乡间田野的炽热，博纳尔用装饰的手法表现自家花园的优雅。虽然都是对景写生，但他们作品的精神内涵、风格特点和技法手段是完全不同的。可喜的是，当下我国写生风景油画也呈现着多元的格局。这其中一种以油画本土化为特色的意象油画，尤为引人关注。它那书法化的抽象和意象化的结构，表现出一种现代性的追求。这种艺术风格可以追溯至前辈大师刘海粟、林风眠等人，由苏天赐、吴冠中等大家传承和发扬。

　　3.简练概括、生动酣畅的形式特点

　　对景写生作品，一般呈现出简练概括、生动酣畅的风格特点，与画照片的“制作感”形成鲜明的对照。那种意蕴清新、一挥而就的痛快淋漓感，使得画味与境界大为提高，画面充满了诗情画意。情感的自由表达又充分体现了艺术家的艺术个性。

　　回顾我国老一辈艺术家，在真正的现实主义价值观的影响下，许多艺术家曾怀着对祖国山河、人民生活的热爱，坚持写生，以自己的真实情感创造了大量的写生作品和许多脍炙人口的以生活为原形的创作。例如古元的塞外风情、吴冠中的江南小景、王肇民的水彩写生作品等等，这些作品现在看起来仍然保持着当年的时代气息，情感朴实而敦厚，不张扬，散发着真实的、火辣辣的生活气息。当今许多艺术家也非常重视写生在创作中的作用，并且随着生活层面的拓展，赋予了写生新的含义。例如中国画坛涌现的“新写实主义”绘画的一些代表画家刘小东、喻红、朝戈等，都是坚持通过写生对现实生活中极为普通的对象做出新的诠释，作品中既有自己的个性，又以作品中写生性的直观真实引起欣赏者的共鸣。今天当人们抱怨美术作品越来越难理解时，这些作品却得到了普遍的认可，原因之一就是这些作品反映出了浓郁的生活气息和时代精神。

　　写生与色彩关系十分密切，选择色彩、归纳色彩在风景写生过程中占有极其重要的地位。画家的想象创作，也是离不开写生积累的。大自然中各种物象色彩极其丰富，因光线、天气、时间的不同，产生了很多色彩对比变化，把这种色彩变化关系表达出来，就是表现了自然中不断变化的特有之美。艺术源于自然，还要高于自然。值得注意的是，风景写生虽是面对自然的绘画，但它不只是为了使自然再现，而是重在对自然的发现和表现，这就需要认真观察，在自然色彩呈现的基础上，去揣摩、领悟，根据自己的审美意识，根据自己对画面色调的追求，进行主观意识的色彩归纳和夸张强调的处理。

　　缘物寄语——风景写生的意境

　　绘画是视觉艺术，画家要感受自然就要去看，去观察，自然界中的景物如果不是人为的破坏，总的来说是美好的、和谐的，但又并不全是完美的“画面”，它需要画家在动手之前认真地去看，去理解它，去发掘、提炼，从中找出具有个性、特性的美的东西来，这是基本的方法，也是观察的第一步。接着就要有意识地，以画家的主观意念去看，去观察，要有意识地进行选择，并赋予画面景物以思想、灵魂，使它成为有生命、有感情的物象。如《芥子园画传》中两棵树的画法就有分形、交形、大小两株法等，说“二株有两法：一大加小是为扶老;一小加大是为携幼;老树需婆娑多情，幼树需窈窕有致，如人之聚离互相倾盼”。当然此非死法，只是讲出一个道理：“缘物寄情”。

　　“一切景语皆情语。” 怎样才能赋予水彩以灵动的表达力，把来自对大自然的深沉感动寄于画卷，使这种感动可以如春风般化人，使这锦绣山水因妙笔而鲜活，情景交融的境界便是对完美的追求。面对世间万象，作为一个写生者，要用心观察一沙一石的表情姿态，用心体会每一个生命的成长历程。罗丹说：“美到处都有，对于我们的眼睛，不是缺少美，而是缺少发现。”可见，画者自身对美的鉴赏力在对景物的理解中至关重要，画者不同的气质修养决定了对自然物象的感悟和表达也会各有千秋，因而形成多姿多彩的艺术形式与风格，画作也就会呈现出不同的意境美。在简练概括的画面之中，构图、造型、色彩、笔触、肌理都是为艺术意图服务的。你的意图要明确，它可能是黑瓦白墙呈现的形式美，它可能是阳光下丰富而又迷人的色彩，它可能是一种历史的沧桑感，它可能是你在大自然中感受到的一种意境、一种气氛……画者本身要先完全沉浸在对美景的感动中，才能产生深切的真情，在心灵感动中，眼中见到的是已浸染了主观美感的画面，此时创作出的作品才能表达出景物最精华的部分——意境，这也是写生作品成败的关键。一旦画家的艺术意图达到了，作品也就完成了，不用为了“完整”，对画面进行修修补补的填充和过分的修饰。这时的画面有着一种简练概括的形式美，以及酣畅淋漓的生动性。这种生动性是非常珍贵的。正是由于这种生动性，使得对景写生的作品在制作感过强、缺乏激情的当代绘画之中，绽放着独特的光彩，从而体现出它的价值和意义。

　　在艺术多元化的今天，创造艺术的方式是多样的，但艺术源于生活是一个最基本的规律，任何一种源于生活而又高于生活，积极向上的艺术风格，都有其存在的价值和发展的空间。面向自然而对景写生的创作作品，以它那独具特色的形式美感、真诚的精神内涵和鲜活的生命力，丰富了艺术的百花园，丰富了人们的审美感受，它将走向更加灿烂的未来。

　　就如列宾所说的:“是啊!去写生吧!去研究大自然吧!逐步前进吧!要拯救我们的美术绚烂，使他有力和不朽，就必须这样做。”—让青山秀水变得流光溢彩!

　　When we take a look at the development of western painting，we find out that sketching is an evergreen method. From Leonardo Da Vinchi，Jean-Auguste-Dominique lngres，Gustave Courbet to the impressionists and the Post-impressionists，the masters have left us a wealth of artistic treasures of sketching. The key element that makes a painting amazing is to communicate with nature in a confident and independent way instead of being its slave. Color is the most vivid and sensitive visual element in all painting languages. In sketching，light and color are especially important. The color we mentioned here is not light waves in Physics，but the carrier that is extracted to express images.

　　Identity of Object and Subject—Meaning of Scenery Painting

　　Nature is a kaleidoscopic full of beauty. Sketching has an important meaning in painting. Its function is diverse: it can cultivate and train the ability to observe and express，accumulate material for creation，and can be a complete artistic from itself. Shi Tao once said: “Who are paintings? They are something that depict the world and everything in it.” Exactly，to paint is to capture the world by images. Nature is the revelation and symbol of personality and arts. Landscape sketching is a process in which the painter relates to，experience and takes from the nature. If we just understand scenery sketching as a mechanic depiction of the nature，we have underestimated and misunderstood the meaning of sketching. As for painting，especially for landscape painting，the meaning of sketching can not be more important. The works of excellent painters all represent their love for nature，no matter whether these painters are of ancient times or of modern time，domestic or foreign.

　　Giorgio Morandi spent his whole life on studying and painting some bottles and the landscape of Bologna suburb. When interviewed，Morandi said:

　　“Feeling and images aroused by the visible world，that is ，the world forms and structures，are difficult or even impossible to describe with definitions or words. In fact，they are totally different from what we feel in daily life，because the world we see is decided by forms，colors，space and lights. I believe，there is nothing more abstract and real than the world we see.”

　　By watching those variedly permutated bottles whose shapes are simple，we can understand what he meant. The subject of paintings is not important;what’s important is whether these paintings could inspire people.

　　John Singer Sargent，a watercolor painter，always drew landscape paintings and portrait painting. Most of his works were impromptu sketches with prominent characteristics，in which we can see that the colors are strong and lively，and the effects of the light are unique. Sargent has never depicted certain details. For example，the sailboat on the water in the picture was blurred with water and colors，as if it was rocking in water. His later works are characterized in this way: the color of red，yellow，blue and green are boldly used，bright but not noisy，thick but transparent-like，showing that Sargent was remarkably skilled in using color，shape and light.

　　Ancient people said that to learn painting should be “Learn from the universe”. It means that a painter should learn from the nature in order to create good works. In artistic history，there have been many artists who regarded sketching as their life. Take an Impressionist for example，they completed most of their works by sketching sceneries. They got rid of the Classicism’s standard rules and the Romanticism’s obsession in the medieval Knight Literature. Instead，they promote outdoor sketching. Like them，Huang Binhong，a Chinese modern artist，has been sketching as well as traveling when he was in his seventies. He explored a kind of painting language belonging to himself by communicating with the nature devoutly. Huang said: “To paint，we should learn from nature. If you have the world in your heart，you can paint with ease.” Only when we can combine “Learn from ancient painters” with “Learn from nature” in sketching，can we be qualified to be examined，can we tell what id essential and what is insignificant，what is vital and what is unnecessary. Then we can find out new laws，accumulate new feelings，enriching the tradition，and consequently，achieve transformation and innovation in arts.

　　“Nature is a personality，a force and also art itself”. Resembling the nature who generates everything casually，the Chinese Scholar-bureaucrat also represented a quality of being straightforward，unrestricted，free and relaxed. Similarly，what Chinese esthetics pursues is natural without polish. Sketching is the basis of artistic activities. Painters can face nature with passion，Before sketching，painters should think about the nature，carefully observe the nature and communicate with the nature by heart. In that way painters could the essence from the sceneries，find out their meanings，comprehend their spirits and combine the sceneries with the painters themselves. Then the strokes，the color and the images of your paintings will be lively and impressive，and your audience will be moved before your pictures.

　　Both object and subject are indispensabte in landscape sketching. On one hand，works with passionate subjects but without objective techniques lifeless. On the other hand，pure objective depicting without subjective emotion is mechanical. Only when we take good care of the relation between the subject and the object，penetrating from the superficial things to the essence，and becoming good at selecting and generalizing，can we evolve into a better state gradually. As far as subjective and objective elements in sketching concerned，we usually think that to carefully depict each relation between any two colors of objective images is objective representation，the other way is to daringly exaggerate the colors of images according to the law of forms and the law of colors. Both ways are depicting the nature，but their effects are basically different: the former belongs to objective reality，while the latter belongs to subjective reality，but mere passion without the technique of understanding cannot be called artwork，either. Only through accurate observation and judgment，reasonable control of our feelings and full application of artistic law which can elevate our feelings，can we create excellent works. when you can apply your emotion rationally with observation and judgment，and practice art laws completely to sublimate your emotion，then you can create perfect works.

　　“To learn from the nature outside，and internally from heart.” “Nature” here means the world from which we get creative materials. On the other hand，painters should extract these raw materials，with their professional accomplishments. What’s more，the subjective expression of feelings should be paid attention to. That is “to learn internally from heart ”. On his road to artistic creation，in order to make development，painters should draw inspiration from life. Any experienced painter knows that the nature’s subtlety and richness，the creation passion and artistic inspiration if can arouse，which cannot be replaced by any other indirect method or groudless imagination.That’s why sketching attracts painters.

　　An Intimate Contact—Characteristics of Landscape Sketching

　　“Go to the mountainous area and the countryside”，“Facing the nature，sketching the nature”. Get rid of the depression of studio，recognize the truth in life，and experience the fresh nature. Transform the real visual feelings and emotional shocks into artistic images;create sketching works that can truly reflect real life. Then we can add new colors to current painting field.

　　The Sense of Presence and The Amount of Information

　　The sense of presence is the biggest difference between sketching the nature and copying from photos in the studio. The presence and a large sum of information are the best vehicle to communicate the painters;feelings quickly and correctly through paintings. Careful observation and real experience，plus the painter’s deep love，can put a bridge between the nature，the painters and the audience. The representation of sceneries is not the only purpose of sketching. The more important thing is to express feelings and his artistic dreams. How to paint the scene well is not only a technical or form issue，but also a kind of recognition and understanding of life. “Unanimity of Heaven and Men” is an important proposition in Chinese philosophy，also the final answer of Confucianism to the relationship between human beings and nature. In Daoism，Dao is to learn form heaven and earth，to learn from everything and to learn from nature. Lao Zi said，“Man learns from the earth，the earth learns from the heaven，the heaven learns from the laws，and the laws are from nature.” The Daoist art regards nature as the highest aesthetic law. “The wise find joy in water，the benevolent find joy in mountains.” If you comprehend nature by heart，you will get inspiration from it. Life experience is necessary to painters，because life is the spring to creation. Buildings，colors，structure，even the specific light of specific environment in your paintings are based on objective existence. Usually the creation by painters is not by single subject but is the combination of figures，sceneries and still lives.

　　Beauty is proper things. Everything that appears in proper time and place is beautiful. It is true with creation. A lack of daily sketching experiences can result in mistakes. Jean-Francois Millet criticized on the country girls in Jules Breton’s painting，“They are so beautiful that it is improper to put them in such a context.” Beauty without a background of hard working is not the beauty of farmers. Obviously the characters do not match the environment，and this is a serious result from a lack of sketching experience. As a methos for people to communicate with life and nature，sketching often inspires people to tell the truth and search for the proper way to express themselves. Understanding the life according to one’s own way and mastering the visual elements of works enable a painter to realize the relation between life and art，and to grasp the artistic style which is higher than the style of life.

　　Facing the nature and sketch the nature. The nature has mysterious creatures and grand sceneries，as well as elevated spirit. That sense of presence and the amount of information cannot be gained through photos，but can only be obtained by experience outdoor. Sketching outdoor can expand the tension of your material，and can increase your ability of arranging，generalizing and extracting. It can also expand your expressive concepts，or sometimes even give you a surprise. Zheng Banqiao’ theory of “bamboo in front of the eyes，bamboo in the heart and bamboo in the hands”，is exactly a process of changing actual objects into spiritual ones or the other way around，that is to say，this is a two-way process.

　　Creativity and Diversity

　　Scenery sketching is a kind of contextual creation. In a lively and real context，you passion will be aroused by new vitality and your emotion will be nourished. You will be absorbed into the situation quickly. Like catalyst，this blending will help you get in the mood，ready for creative work. Because sketching depends mainly on instinct，it can help you draw more directly and sensibly，which lead you to forget limitations. The stereotyped and stylized production process is touted by the sense of presence，and therefore a new pictorial effect will come up，which will result in a qualitative evolution and demonstration of creativity. Creativity is in an artistic style that comes from life but is superior to life，there might be a distance between it and natural sceneries.

　　After all，the reality of art is different from the reality of nature. Sketching represents a painter’s feelings for nature;it is a reality of the painter’s heart. If we try to painted something exactly like the way it is，then it is much easier to copy the photos in studio. Since each painter has different artistic concept and aesthetic orientation，there are many different artistic style. Sketching styles are verified. For example，Claude Monet uses small strokes of either warm or cold colors to paint stacks of hay under a blaze of sunshine: Paul Cezanne adopts a internal structure to represent the masculinity and magnificence of St. Doak Mountain;Van Gogh used unique curves and colors to depict the blazing field;Bonnard used a decorative means to show the elegance of his own garden.Though all of them are making sketching，their works are different. Now we are happy to see that landscape oil painting in our country begins to show diversity also. Among them，the imagery oil painting featured by localization is noticeable. Its abstraction likes that of calligraphy and its structure which resemble images have represented a kind of contemporary pursuit. This kind of artistic style can be traced back to artist such as Liu Haisu，Lin Fengmian etc，and has been inherited and improved by masters like Su Tianci，Wu Guanzhong etc.

　　Features of Being Concise，General，Vivid and Fluent

　　Generally speaking，sketching works are concise，general，vivid and fluent. They are very different from the works copied from photos，which possess a sense of rigidity.When holding a brush，you feel the sense of delight and freshness，and this will elevate the painting to like a poem. In addition，the free expression of feelings can fully represent the artistic personality of the painter.

　　When we look back at the older generation of artists in China，we find that many artists had kept on sketching to show their great love to the motherland and people. They use their true feelings to create a large number of sketching works and many popular paintings based on real life. For example，Gu Yuan’s “Norther-Frontier Scene”，Wu Guanzhong’s “Jiang Nan Scene”，Wang Zhaomin’s watercolor sketching works etc. Even today，you can also feel the spirit of that time when you look at these works: simple，gentle and understated. Sketching is defined from the view of communication，which contrasts against traditional narrow definition. You can even feel the passionate breath of life through their works.

　　Many modern artists also pay attention to the function of sketching in creation as well. And with the expansion of life experience，these artists have given new meanings to sketching. For example，the Neorealism School appeared in Chinese painting field with the representatives such as Liu Xiaodong，Yu Hong and Chao Ge，etc. They insist on sketching has given a new explanation to the ordinary objects in real life. Their works have represented the painter’s own personalities，and the visibility and vividness of sketching in them has evoked the sympathy of the audience as well. While modern people complain that artistic works are getting more and more difficult to understand，these works have gained general recognition，and this is partly because of the charm of life and the spirit of the age shown in them.

　　Sketching has close relation with color: choosing and generalizing colors play an important role in scenery sketching. No painter can paint without accumulation of sketching experience. In fact，nature is rich in colors，with the change of light，weather and time，it would come up with different appearance. If we can record the relations between colors，we will represent the unique beauty of changes in nature. Art comes from life and is superior to life. What we need to bear in mind is，although scenery sketching is based on the nature，it is merely to not represent nature，but to express our feelings and understanding about nature. Therefore，we should observe and study colors carefully，and generalize and exaggerate colors according to our own aesthetic consciousness and our own feelings for the pictorial tone.

　　Expression of Feelings through Images-The Meaning of Landscape Sketching

　　Painting is a kind of visual arts which need painters to observe. Generally speaking，as long as the scene are not ruined by human beings，it will be beautiful and harmonious. However，they are not perfect pictures. Before painting them，painters need to watch carefully，understand them，and then explore and extract the unique beauty from them. That is the first step，and a basic method. Next，painters will select consciously and ensoul the scene. For example，in the Mustard Seed Garden，there are many ways of drawing two trees，separate them，cross or make a contrast. “There are two methods to draw two trees: when the big one os the leading character，the role of the small one is to support the big one;when the small one is the leading character，the role of the big ones is to take care of the small，the big one should be graceful;they should be like two people towards each other durning separation for reunion. Of course，this is not a fixed law，but it reveals a principle: we should express our feelings through images.

　　We can express our feelings through every scenery. We should bestow watercolors with the power of expression，and communicate our deep love for nature through pictures，so that our feelings could move people，and the beautiful sceneries could become alive under our brushes. The pursuit of perfection will lead to the level in which the feelings and the sceneries art blended together.

　　As sketching painters，we need to observe meaning of everything in the universe，and comprehend everything’s growing process. As Rodin says，“There is beauty everywhere. There is not a lack of beauty but of eyes that can find it. Therefore，we know that painter’s ability to appreciate beauty is of paramount importance in comprehending the scene. Painter’s temperament and cultivation determine their understanding and reproduction of the nature，which have led to diverse artistic forms and styles，and different kinds of beauty in works. In concise general pictures，compositions，shapes，colors，texture… all of these are working for the artistic purpose. The purpose should be clear.It could be the beauty of forms represented by black tiles and white walls，or the beauty of the rich and attractive colors winter sunshine;it could be the beauty of historic bitterness or a meaning or an atmosphere you feel in nature，Painters should immerse themselves in the beautiful sceneries，and then they can generate deep feelings. In such moment，the beauty of the sceneries has become subjective.Works produced at this time can represent the essence of the sceneries，that is，feelings，which is the key to the works’ quality. Once painters’ purposes are achieved，the works are done. There is no need to revise or decorate just for “completion”. At this time，the picture will show a concise and general kind of beauty and vividness. This is very precious. It is because of the vividness that sketching works have represented an unique charm which shows the worth and meaning of the works in this mechanical and lifeless atmosphere of modern painting.

　　Nowadays art is pluralistic，and the artistic styles are varied. However，it is a fundamental principle that art comes from life. Every artistic style is from life，and is higher than life.has its own value and space for development. With their unique beauty，sincere spirits and fresh vitality，sketching paintings have enriched the art landscape and people’s aesthetic feelings. It has a promising future.

　　Repin said，“Go! Go sketching! Study the nature! Go ahead gradually! To save the art and make it powerful and immortal，we must do so.” —Let’s make green hills and clear waters flowing with colors and lights!