Happy Flowers, 100×100cm, 2021
Sketching and creating with the flow of encounters
——Li Xuemei's new oil painting selection
Before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, I had the opportunity to go abroad to see the masterpieces treasured in those famous museums and art galleries, and there were always some things that touched my heart and never tired of reading. Exhaustion and fulfillment are intertwined in the rush, and the spirit has been sublimated again and again. Those simple and glimmering works of human brilliance are not just huge pictures, but perhaps just a small sketch or sketch... That's the power of art – it makes your heart beat faster, it makes you not want to be reckless, it makes you act! In this state, I made some attempts at sketching and creating in between trips, sometimes smoothly and sometimes lamely, not much satisfaction... It's really bittersweet self-knowledge.
In the days when the whole world is facing the epidemic together, I stayed at home and felt deeply helpless and incompetent as a painter. Live well and draw something with the encounter! On the one hand, I continue to think about it, sorting out the feelings through pictures to make the paintings; on the other hand, I modify the old works that are not ideal and try to "resurrect" them as much as possible.
In the spring and summer season of 2019 in the countryside of Jiaodong, the wildflowers everywhere and the flowers and plants I planted myself gave me more surprises and inspiration than expected, and I was touched by their strong vitality! I watched them admire them and began to show as much strength and joy as possible that this vibrancy had given me! In autumn, villages, coasts, and docks can always find something to draw... As long as you sink your heart and paint it, you will have experience and harvest. The sky and the coast are sometimes quiet and sunny, sometimes gloomy and sad, and often roar and earth-shattering! It can be empty or even sparsely populated, but you can also find crowds gathering and busy working! In this simple countryside, I gradually found my inner peace and began to have more ideal paintings.
Trying to explore the freedom to find the expression of oil painting between "realism and freehand" is the position I gave myself more than twenty years ago, and I am still looking for it on this road. I enjoy this process of making fun out of suffering. The pain comes from struggling with yourself most of the time, and maybe there will never be absolute perfection? Perhaps by maintaining an immediate relationship with nature, we can walk in and out again and gain true creative freedom.
This is a small selection from paintings from 2018-2021. Due to the epidemic, the previously planned exhibition has also been cancelled. Fortunately, the way information is disseminated in the Internet age has changed. It is also a blessing to interact with the painter's friends in this new way and share it with the enthusiasts.
The barrier seems to be going on. I think all a painter can do is give the viewer spiritual strength and hope through his work. I look forward to scientific research to defeat or control the epidemic! May the brilliance of art penetrate the haze of illness and soothe the soul, and may love and ideals be with you and me.
Li Xuemei
June 2021
"Peach and Vase Flower", 70×90cm, 2021
"Red Landscape" 120×160cm, 2017
Album and Geranium One, 80×80cm, 2020
Album and Geranium II, 80×80cm, 2020
"Shizuka" 60×100cm 2019
"One of the Autumns of the Courtyard", 60×80cm, 2020
"Autumn Ii of the Courtyard", 60×80cm, 2020
One of the Wildflowers in the Countryside, 60×50cm, 2019
"Country Wildflowers II", 60×50cm, 2019
"One of the Beauty of Country Flowers" 80×80cm, 2020
"Country Flower Beauty II", 80×80cm, 2020
"Wild Chrysanthemums in Front of the Window", 100×60cm, 2018
"Peony Blossom" 80×80cm, 2021
Gemini Vase Flowers, 80× 60cm, 2020
Charming Village, 50× 70cm, 2020
"The Corner of the Yard", 60×60cm, 2020
Busy Little Dock, 60×80cm, 2019
"Little Pier", 60×60cm, 2020
"Sunset in a Fishing Village", 60×60cm, 2020
"Paris Outside the Window" 70× 90cm, 2019
Walking - One of montmartre, 60×80cm, 2017
Walking - Montmartre II, 60×80cm, 2017
"The Girl Who Loves to Sing" 70×100cm, 2018
"The Girl Who Loves Beauty" 100×120cm, 2018
"Small Station on the Outskirts of Paris", 60×73cm, 2018
The Girl in front of the Window and the Vase flower, 60×60cm, 2018
"Man in the Mirror", 90× 70cm, 2018
Li Xuemei | Li Xuemei
He is a member of the China Artists Association and a professor of the Shandong Academy of Arts and Crafts. Distinguished creator of Beijing Contemporary Freehand Oil Painting Research Institute. His works have been selected for many national art exhibitions and provincial art exhibitions and won awards. He has held many solo exhibitions. He has published "Contemporary Oil Painting Masters - Li Xuemei" and so on. In the creation and sketching of oil paintings, Li Xuemei pays attention to the sublimation of personal feelings, and devotes herself to the expressiveness of oil painting colors. I want to express my sense of life and my love for nature in a more sincere and self-sufficient way. Representative works include "Yellow and Purple Series", "Xinjiang Group Painting Series", "Flower Blossom and Fall Series" and so on. His works have been selected for the 9th and 10th National Art Exhibitions, the 3rd China Oil Painting Exhibition, the 2nd China Still Life Oil Painting Exhibition (and won the second prize), etc., and have held solo exhibitions at home and abroad for many times. The latest works include "Abstract Landscape Series", "European Travel Series", "Flowers and Landscape Series" The main collections of works: CAFA Art Museum, Beijing International Art Garden Art Foundation, Turkish Embassy in China, China Oil Painting Museum, Shandong Art Museum, China Weihai Sunshine Art Museum, etc.