我的绘画起点与那个时代的爱好美术的人一样，也是从涂鸦描摹开始的。当时的范本大多都是《红灯记》、《智取威虎山》之类的小人书。后来参加学校的美术宣传组，再后就找一个专业的老师学画画。当时并没有什么美术院校可以考试，对绘画完全是出于爱好。从父母的角度认为学门手艺，到时看能否进入居委会从事宣传工作，避过上山下乡这一关。
As with other art lovers at that time, I started painting from scrawling and portraying. Back then, models for painting available were picture-story books like “The Legend of the Red Lantern” and “Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy”. I joined the Art Publicity Team of the school and learned painting from a professional teacher later on . There were no tests offered by fine arts colleges and universities and painting is totally out of interests. But from the perspectives of my parents, commanding a kind of skill would become a key to be a member of the neighborhood committee under the capacity of propagandist and avoid settlement in rural areas.
我绘画的启蒙老师是曾松龄老师，在我所在的城市里他是一位传奇人物，广州美术学院油画本科毕业，在那个时代这种人是了不得的。我从他那里学到绘画的基本技能，他的为人处事对我也产生很大影响。当时学画画不像现在，要交学费。记得到了年底的时候父亲会拿几包“金鹿”香烟送老师，而老师有时会转送几包“大前门”作为回礼。可以说这时才是我绘画历程的真正开始，知道了绘画需要写生和明暗比例之类的技巧。最早对绘画的认识就是列宾之类的俄罗斯式写实绘画。当时绘画对我是一件严肃的事情，写生一定要在晚上进行，打上灯光才能开始绘画。文革时期经常停电，只能点上煤油灯，父亲为我在小小的阁楼上安上一块活动的木板，算是我的写生台，摆上皮鞋书包之类静物，时间长了阁楼的屋顶被熏出一团浓浓黑迹。对绘画的狂热在这时也慢慢显现出来了，我自制了一个小油画箱，恰好能放进书包，下午4点放学后就直奔海边的一个工地，而且要步行四五公里，那个工地可以说是当时学画画人的写生基地，每天最少都有四五人到此写生，大家最热衷写生的景色是用竖插杉排围成的一个锯木坊，前面有一个小水塘，黄昏时焕发出金色微波，草地上堆放着各类木段，这些本是普通不过的场景，却令我们着迷，只因为那黄昏色调能唤出俄罗斯式的深沉。可以说我少年绘画基调就是俄罗斯式的自然风光。
My abecedarian of painting is Mr. Zeng Songling who is a legendary figure in the city I lived and graduated from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts majored in oil painting, truly an exceptional person at that time. I learned basic skills of painting from him. In the meantime, his way of doing things and treating others has impacted me a lot. It was a totally different scenario to learn painting than today when tuition fee is required. I recalled that at the year-end, my father would present several packets of “Golden Hind” cigarette to Mr. Zeng, as a return, he would give some “Daqianmen” cigarettes. It makes sense to say that my painting course was started right at that time when I knew that painting calls for techniques of sketching from nature and focusing on the proportion of light and shade. My earliest knowledge about painting was the Russian style true-life painting of Ilya Repin. Back then, painting was a very serious thing for me and sketching from nature must be carried out in the evening and only with lighting, can I start painting. Power failure was of common occurrence during the Cultural Revolution. I had to lighten the kerosene lamp. My father installed a movable board in the small attic as my painting table. Leather shoes, bags and other still lives were placed. For long, the rooftop of the attic was smoked black. My enthusiasm for painting was demonstrated over time. I made a small oil painting box on my own which can contain my school bag. I went straight to the construction site in the beach at 4:00pm after school each day after walking four to five kilometers. The construction site could be seen as a base for people learning painting to sketch from nature. Every day, at least four to five people came here. The most favorable scenery was a saw mill workshop encircled by vertical China firs. There was a small pond before the workshop, golden wave was radiated before dark. Various kinds of wood blocks were put on the grassland. This is nothing but a common scene, but we’re impressed by it only because the twilight tone could arouse the Russian deep sense. So my painting tone in my teenage is Russian natural landscape.
1978年我考上广州美院附中，当时在汕头是一件了不得的事，周围许多人都知道某某阿弟考上了。广州与家乡有着天壤之别，相比省城汕头简直就是乡下，有天晚上同学带我到北京路逛夜街，商店的橱窗让我觉得好像身处电影里的香港街道。我在师兄的宿舍遇到一位穿白衬衣，满头银发，带着金丝眼镜手扶拐杖的老人正在指点师兄，说一些我听不懂的学术问题，后来我才知道这是副院长杨秋人。刚到广州时总有许多令我激动的时刻，总之最初的感觉就是我与学术已经很近了，心中充满激情和忐忑。当时附中还流传着《初升的太阳》的传记小说，是有关列宾美术学院附中一位早逝天才学生的生平，更撩起我心中奋斗的力量，少年激情的力量是无限的，但这种力度被引向了一种刻板的学习，手中紧握着4H最硬的铅笔，紧瞪着眼前的石膏水果模型，我要画出最丰富最细腻的质感和明暗变化，连石膏翻模时没有修好的接口缝隙都画出来了，当时对这些方法并没有太多地抵触反而其乐无穷，觉得惟有这样才是攀登艺术高峰的基础，倒是现在想起有点感慨。
I was admitted by the Middle School attached to Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 1978, a great achievement in Shantou back then, which was made known to many people in my neighborhood. Guangzhou and my hometown had a world of difference. Compared to the provincial capital, Shantou was just a countryside. One evening, my classmate took me to Beijing Road to go window-shopping and shop windows rendered me a feeling that I was on a Hong Kong street in the film. I encountered an old man at the dormitory of my senior who wore a white shirt and gold-rimmed glasses, had white hairs and leaned on a crutch. They discussed about academic issues which I couldn’t understand. Later, I learned that it’s Yang Qiuren, Deputy President of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. I was excited when I came to Guangzhou. After all, the first feeling was I was very near to academics, making me passionate and sperturbed. A biography novel “Rising Sun” was circulated in the Middle School, describing the lifetime of a talented student of the Middle School attached to Repin Academy of Fine Arts who died at an early age, which stimulated my power for fight. The strength of enthusiasm of a youth is endless, yet such a vigor was led to an inflexible learning. I held the hardest 4H pencil and stared at plaster model of fruits, aiming to paint the most colorful and exquisite texture and changes in light and shade. I even drew up the gap of port which wasn’t repaired well when the plaster model was rolled over. I didn’t strongly oppose to these techniques, yet I thought it was a great joy as it is the foundation for me to scale new heights of art. It’s still a mixed emotion when thinking of it now.

译员：Joanna（品格资深综合类英语翻译）

本文由北京翻译公司品格翻译提供，未经允许，不得转载。