从不经意开始习画，到对画的迷恋，也不知走过多少沟沟坎坎，尝过多少喜怒哀乐。总以为现在对“画”有了一点了解，可平心而论，直到现在才晓得“事不经过不知难”的真滋味。“画的真像！”这是我初学绘画的原动力。为了达到这一境界，素描、速写，可没少下功夫。追上了一个目标，又出现了另一个目标。好在还经常自我安慰：“他们都是叔叔阿姨辈的，或许我到了他们这个年龄也能画得像他们一样好。”然而，考上了工艺美校，从美术学院毕了业，得到了硕士学位后，才发现心中的目标远远难以实现。画的最高境界究竟是什么？是技巧？是好看？还是心灵的震撼？“它”真成了我一生破解不开的谜??
“苏联的学院派”让我对造型、色彩、三度空间有了初步的认识，使我明白怎样才能把物体画像，画得有质感、有空间。“法国印象派”让我开始对色彩有了新的理解，知道了色彩与空气的关系。由此，我对色彩有了相当长一段时间的迷恋，尤其画风景时产生了心跳的感觉， 至今还是如此。可惟独对欧洲古典油画的“清一色的酱油色”难以理解。直到走进“卢浮宫”才恍然大悟：原来那是拙劣印刷编制出的美丽的误会。
日本、苏联、维也纳，三种学习环境给了我三种不同的感受。不断更新的工业造型设计，完整严谨的视觉艺术传统，古典与现代交错融合的当代艺术，使我对美学“交响曲”有了新的感受。法国的“红磨坊”，美国的“时代广场”，意大利的“威尼斯”，给了我难以形容的视觉震撼。建筑、电影、绘画展示出不同国度，不同风格，不同的艺术魅力，在我的心灵深处不停地冲击碰撞，同时也使我对艺术有了更多层面的认识与思考。
艺术可以因它不同凡响的技术而令人敬佩，也可以因它引人入胜的情节令人着迷，艺术不仅为视觉带来享受，也会在心灵深处引起共鸣。艺术不只是说教，而更多的是感动。
如何才能达到艺术的最高境界？我以为是技术与感情的完美结合。在人们享受视觉艺术魅力的同时，也要从中得到共鸣与启迪。这就是胡特 (Hutter)教授传授给我的“幻想”意识 。想像是人类智慧的翅膀，它会带领人们飞向更高的艺术境界；想像是人们创造精神财富与物质财富的依据，是把平凡提升为艺术的力量。所以，“幻想”成为我创作的原动力。透过客观物体的表面现象，挖掘更深一层本质，通过司空见惯的物象，揭示出它内在的奥秘。这种穿透力依靠的就是想像，就是再创造力。若要达到这一境界，就需要对客观现实进行深入研究，细心体会，并且需要丰富的阅历：“读万卷书，行万里路”，这正是这一基本要素。
只有你对专业技巧驾轻就熟时，才能得心应手地表达出你的意念；只有你对物象有了深刻的认识时，才能揭示出其中的奥妙；只有你对表现的对象产生共鸣时，才能创作出感人的作品。“梦幻”就是解码现实中不可能的秘密。
Do I really understand what a “painting” is? Yes maybe, a little bit. The thing I know for sure is that my fate has been doomed the time I started learning painting casually. I have been addicted to art, and as for me, the journey in pursuit of The Muse has been more than arduous.
“Your picture is so truthful!” The remark was the greatest encouragement in my eyes when I first studied art. To make my works truthful, I spent much effort on practicing drawings and sketches. It was my goal to catch up with the leading Realist artists of the time, but every time I thought that I was near one, another loomed into my sight. I had often to comfort myself by saying: “they are all of the generation of my parents, and I can be as good as they are when I reach their age.” In the process, I graduated from the school of art and design, later from the academy of art and received a master’s degree, but my goals are still far ahead of me.
What is most important in art? Is it the skill? Is it the good look of a picture? Or, is it the impact on the mind of a visitor? This has been the Sphinx Question to me.
The Russian Realists gave me the basic knowledge of compositions, colors and the three-dimensional space. From them, I learned how to make my pictures truthful and vivid. The French Impressionists spurred my further understandings of colors, and I began to realize that there is a link between colors and the air. Upon this, I became addicted to colors and this lasted quite a long time. My heart still beat fast when I am painting a landscape. But there was one thing that kept puzzling me C why did all the classic oil paintings of Europe take on a color of the soy sauce? An answer was given only when I stepped into the Louvre Museum. Well, that was because my textbooks were not printed well enough.
Japan, Russia and Vienna -- The three different environments of study gave me complicated feelings. Altogether, they composed a symphony of aesthetics for me, with ever-updating industrial designs, traditional practices and vibrant contemporary art scenes. The Moulin Rouge of France, the Times Square of the United States and the Venice of Italy shocked me in a way that was too strong to be described. Architectures, films and paintings displayed the charms of art from different nations and of various styles, and together they made me think about art with a broader scope of view, and in more of a depth
Art can be admirable because of its skills; can be enchanting because of its plots. Art brings joys to the eyes and echoes to the hearts. Art is no teaching, but touching.
How to reach the highest level of art? I think that one will need a perfect combination of skills and emotions so as to be able to make the audience charmed and inspired. This has been the power of the “fantasy,” which my professor, Mr. Wolfgang Hutter, taught me. Fantasies are the wings to the wisdom of human beings, and they have the power to turn something common into a great piece of art. The fantasy is also the driving force of my creations, and with it I was able to investigate deeper than the surface of life and to reveal the inner secrets. I depend on fantasies to be penetrative, and on in-depth researches and rich experiences to be imaginative.
I believe that one can only express the mind when there are enough skills, can only reveal the charms when there are good understandings, and can only make their works touching when there is an echo between the artist and the subject. The “fantasy” is the key to making the impossible possible.
Cheng Yajie