Lost Dream in Kyoto

Kyoto Journal 108 Insights From ASIA 2024

100subtexts literary magazine 18 Hua Liu

Hua Liu, graduated from the Department of Chinese Painting of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 1982, used to teach in the Department of Fine Arts of Hengyang Normal College, and has been living in Suzhou since 2001 as a freelance artist, engaged in painting, sculpture, photography, artistic landscape design, graphic design, art theory research, and network writing.
In 2005, he wrote the book "Into the New Landscape", published by Guangdong Science and Technology Press.
2014 Ink works exhibited at the Singapore International Art Fair.
Founded the WeChat self-media Public Account "Ancient Garden Dream" 古园惊梦 in 2016.
2019-2020 Appointed as the author of the garden weekly of Suzhou Gusu Evening News.
2023 Abstract ink works and interviews published in Inspirational Arts magazine.
2024 Abstract ink works and modern poems published in Europe's 100subtexts literary magazine.

Liu Hua's Ink Poetry Selection "Forest of Dreams" English Recitation Video Version

Gently, gently paint the mountains,
Gentle peaks, gentle hills, soft trees.
Gently, gently reveal the clouds and the twilight,
Gently floating in, gently floating out.
Gently, gently paint the clear springs,
Gently flowing with soft, mist-like ripples.
Gently, gently capture her beauty,
Gentle curved brows, soft phoenix eyes, light red lips,
willowy waist.
Gently, gently ah! A gentle life, a gentle world!

English Recitation： Diana Pan Rong
Ink and Poetry: Hua Liu

Liu Hua's Ink Poetry Selection "Forest of Dreams" English Recitation Video Version

Forest of Dreams
A lion carries a rabbit on its back, while the Monkey King leads a duck.
A stream flows with honey, trees laden with fruit.
Morning light bathes the flowers, a clear spring reflects lovers.
A young girl dances gracefully, accompanied by a boy playing the flute.
Van Gogh happily drinking wine, while Bada Shanren artfully tasting tea.
Silver haired Confucius playing the guqin, while Socrates chanting poetry.
That is my forest,
The forest of my dreams.

I am fortunate to have been able to record the reality of my life in a portfolio.
I am lucky that without ink and poetry, the light of my life would have turned into smoke and drifted away without a trace.
I am lucky that without the internet, my ink and verses would just be silent self-talk.
After the publication of Ink and Poetry at 100subtexts literary magazine, I received a letter from the editor, Mr. John Hopper, which touched me a lot with one sentence: "Thanks so much for being part of the magazine and this brand new issue, your contribution made all the difference. "
And now Thanks to Prof Liang Wenchiang, Seattle, USA, and Samuel Penn, the editor of Architecture Magazine, UK for their translation support.

Hua Liu's Abstract Ink Creation Process Video Sharing

Chinese brushwork is still different from Western painting. Although I use a row of brushes, the technique is still Chinese, the so-called bold strokes are careful cleanup, and ink is about the chiaroscuro of the brush.

Inspirational arts magazine, Europe, video interview with Hua Liu

In early June of this year, When I received the nine questions designed by Mr. John Hopper, the editor of the European Inspirational Arts magazine, for an interview with me and my work, my heart is surging with emotion, and reading these questions, I should have dropped everything I was doing long ago and quietly asked myself. Because nowadays, it seems that people in Chinese society are all involved in rapid economic development, so much so that our souls cannot keep up with the pace of our lives and work. So I spent the next few days thinking about it and answering the interview questions in depth and carefully. If my article and works published in Inspirational Arts magazine can let readers know the real journey of an artist from China and how his artworks are formed by his connotations and ideas, I think it is a tribute to John Hopper and his colleagues' hard work. I think it is a reward for the hard work of Mr. John Hopper and his colleagues. I would also like to thank John Hopper for his interview. I would like to thank Mr. John Hopper for this interview!

Hua Liu talks about Art

I've been a teacher for many years, and I usually speak fluently in lectures and talks, but I didn't think I'd be so uncomfortable in front of the camera when I made the video. Although there was nothing wrong with the language, it was even more unnatural. I didn't want to post it on the Internet, and I didn't plan to shoot my own video on camera in the future, but the enthusiastic Mr. Edzard Teubert left a message to encourage me, saying "For the audience, a good painting, even if it is first-class, may disappoint them because the viewer only wants to see what they want to see. to see. People are looking for value, and that value may be based on time, and they may not appreciate the information at this time, but at a different time, that information may be critical to them. And if the video doesn't exist, then it can't go from nothing to something." That's so good, and it goes along with what my video says, "It's only when you look back at your own work that you can know the meaning it carries." So I immediately decided to post the video on the web.

Lived in seclusion in Suzhou for 22 years, just to photograph and study the ancient garden in spring, summer, autumn, winter, wind, frost, rain, and snow ......
At the same time, he is also an abstract ink painter.

Spring Waterscape and Qing Dynasty Ancient Paintings at Cang lang Pavilion

The Qing Dao guang painter Chen Min painted "The Cang lang Pavilion". The Willow tree's soft look, lush trees, buildings, bridges, riverbanks, roads, archways...realistic, less than two hundred years from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty.

Rain in Humble Administrator's Garden | Classical Gardens of Suzhou

Walking on the water gallery, watching the scenery and paintings, quietly listening to the sound of rain dripping in the pool, slowly, the thoughts bring people to the depths of their souls.

The Collection of Maple Leaves in The Humble Administrator's Garden view

Although the Humble Administrator’s Garden was a Ming Dynasty Garden, apart from maple trees, there are few thick old trees, but many maple trees and the age of the trees is not long.

Classical Gardens of Suzhou Appreciation First Snow in the Lingering Garden

I don't know whether I want a result or a beautiful dream experience from my photography, but for an artist, the result is never satisfactory. I would rather say I have been dreaming about the classical gardens of Suzhou for twenty-two years