China News Service, Urumqi, March 29 (Li Mingfei) Using gems as paint and using both hands as brushes, he creates on wooden boards. This is the unique painting method of Xinjiang gem painter Geng Jiang. Recently, reporters walked into Geng Jiang's studio and saw that he was creating a gem painting with the theme of sunflowers. Geng Jiang's studio is not big, only about 20 square meters, but it is filled with nearly a thousand works created over the past 20 years of his career.
Gem painting is a type of mosaic that was first seen in Mesopotamia in more than 4000 BC. It is unclear when it was introduced to China, but one thing that is certain is that in the past, gem painting was a royal treasure and rarely appeared among the people. .
“Love at first sight” for gem paintings
Geng Jiang was born in the Altay region of Xinjiang and has unique feelings for his hometown. Therefore, in his paintings, Xinjiang scenery and urban culture have become his creative themes. In the early 1990s, Geng Jiang entered a local jewelry company as an arts and crafts maker. By chance, he met a teacher who did gem painting, and he became associated with gem painting from then on.
Geng Jiang told reporters: "At that time, I felt that it was not difficult to create a gemstone painting and it was easy to get started, so I fell in love with gemstone paintings immediately. The mountains of Altay, the water of Altay, including the birch forest here are all... My creative material." Talent, coupled with hard work, made Geng Jiang's gem paintings quickly stand out in the market.
Geng Jiang said: "I can create a simple gemstone painting very quickly, but if I want to highlight my personal style, the content and the painting method are more complicated, it may take several weeks." Geng Jiang began to explain to reporters. improvisation. He first uses a pencil to compose the pattern on the wooden board, then applies glue to the locations where the gem particles need to be filled, and then spreads the gem particles evenly in the corresponding areas according to the requirements of different colors.
While making the work, Geng Jiang told reporters: "When spreading gemstones, your hands must be steady, your eyes must be thin, and they must be spread evenly, especially where light and dark meet. The transition must be natural and conform to the laws of light and shadow." The gemstone grains were not completely fixed, so Geng Jiang made the final fine-tuning, and a gemstone painting was created.
The blue sky, golden woods, and white rivers all match the colors just right, and the blank space creates endless reverie. From a distance, it looks like an oil painting. When you get closer, you can see the gems shining under the light, which has a strong visual impact. Touched gently by hand, the hard and finely divided gemstones give a unique texture.
Geng Jiang's gem painting "Autumn in Kanas". Photo provided by interviewee
Study hard and practice hard just because of love
In 2004, Geng Jiang came to Urumqi. Due to financial difficulties, he had to rent a ten-square-meter basement. He lived there for four years and often needed help from friends. Geng Jiang said: "That basement is really cold in winter and hot in summer. The conditions are very difficult, but it is also very quiet. I can concentrate on my creation in there." Without the distractions of the outside world, I can continue to settle myself. Recalling the time he spent creating in the basement, Geng Jiang was filled with emotion. But it is undeniable that four years of hard work have laid a solid foundation for Geng Jiang’s future breakthroughs.
After years of accumulation, Geng Jiang has collected gem scraps of various colors. Most of these raw materials are newly produced in Xinjiang, mainly tourmalines, garnets, crystals, agates, jade and other treasures. Geng Jiang said: "Because the material of gemstones is scarce after all, so now we use some quartz or coloring to replace the state of some gemstones. This can make the picture more expressive and richer."
A gemstone painting titled "One Look at Deep Love" is Geng Jiang's favorite and proud work. This painting won the bronze medal in the National Arts and Crafts Competition. In the picture, a Tajik girl looks affectionately into the distance, with the Tianshan Mountains stretching behind her. The entire painting is made of gemstone sand, and the girl's eyes and clothes are decorated with whole gemstones. The painting combines oil painting, gemstones, and 3D creative methods, making the painting both vivid and imaginative.
Geng Jiang and his gem painting "One Look at Deep Love". Photo by Li Mingfei
Break out of the cocoon beyond yourself
As the inheritor of the gem painting production skills of Urumqi's intangible cultural heritage, Geng Jiang not only inherits and carries forward the gem painting production skills, but also constantly explores and explores newer creative elements and styles. In Geng Jiang's works, gems, pigments, stones, and paints have all become his painting materials. The integration of various craft materials gives Geng Jiang's works a unique flavor.
Geng Jiang said: "After more than ten years of research and creation, now I combine gems and modern paintings, use various materials and different artistic languages, make some innovations, and form a comprehensive material painting to make the performance of the painting Richer, more vivid.”
Geng Jiang's comprehensive material work "Sweet Days (2)". Photo provided by interviewee
Hard work pays off. In 2011, Geng Jiang won the Bronze Award for Chinese Fine Arts in the "Tian Craft Garden Baihua Cup", and in 2013, he won the Silver Award and Bronze Award in the "Golden Phoenix" Innovative Product Design Competition of the 48th National Arts and Crafts Fair.
At the 13th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Expo and Trade Fair, Geng Jiang's gem paintings attracted many tourists to stop and watch them once they were displayed. Many tourists said that this was the first time they had seen gem paintings, and Geng Jiang also patiently explained the production process of gem paintings to everyone.
Nowadays, Geng Jiang, who has become the intangible inheritor of gem painting at the autonomous region level, spends more time on creation and teaching, constantly seeking innovation and change. Geng Jiang told reporters that his biggest wish is to conduct a nationwide tour so that more people can learn about Xinjiang through his gem paintings. At the same time, I will have the opportunity to see the gem paintings in Russia and Central Asian countries. He said: "Russian gem paintings are very famous. I want to see the gem-inlaid black marble table in the Winter Palace. It would be better if I could communicate and learn from their artists." (End)