I found one article on the Shi Lu's book about paintings called 学画录 or Memoranda of Studying Paintings. I tried to find the original but not successful so far except a part of it in Chinese, which are shown at the end of this post. The title of the article is ＜？（淡把清心当月魂）＞ and the subtitle is ＜Shi Lu's Painting and thoughts seen in his Memoranda of Studying Paintings（从《学画录》观石鲁绘画与思想）＞ written by Chen Xin (陈新) Guan LingYan (寇凌燕)
http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_61ea1f080101fbqj.html

1. Their three stage classification

1) Until 1949
2) 1950-1962
2) 1963 and onward

The authors do not explain much the reason why the third stage started in 1963 but that Shi Lu's paintings show some dramatic changes in 1962/1963 and onward from the realistic and epic nature and well designed composition with some lyrical hint to more audacious renovation, more emphasis on the contrast including the foreground and background, seeking beyond the tradition and something different from the others. Shi Lu became sick in 1963 and stayed in a hospital where he started to write Memoranda of Studying Paintings.

2. From ＜To show Spirit by using Figures （以形写神）＞ to ＜To show Figures by using Spirit （以神写形）＞

＜To show Spirit by using Figures ＞ is an very old authentic axiom back to 4-5th century. Shi Lu proposed the opposite ＜To show Figures by using Spirit （以神写形）＞. In his writing ＜Spirit comes first and followed by Figures, or Figures must follow Spirit. 先神而后形，由形而后神＞ found in ＜Chapter of Creating Figures＞ (1) in Memoranda of Studying Paintings. He did not fear of the traditions even very much authorized one like ＜To show Spirit by using Figures （以形写神）＞and this shows his personality.

This reminds me of the comment by 郎绍君 which I introduced in ＜Shi Lu (石鲁) - 2, One article on Shi Lu by 郎绍君＞.

"
他追求的是诗意的再现，还不是表现的诗意。

During the first stage Shi Lu was trying to re-create poesy (beauty) found in people's daily lives, not trying to express poesy (beauty) found in people's daily lives.

"

Shi Lu is a magician who extracts beauty and poesy hidden in people's daily lives. But according to him, this should be "Shi Lu is a magician who re-creates beauty and poesy found in people's daily lives. "

3. If you seek a painstaking life then your life will become lifeless. If you seek a passionate life then your life will become alive. （刻意求生活，生活则不活；以情求生活，生活则活。）

The original Chinese uses a rhetoric. 刻意 and 以情 should have the opposite or contrasting
meanings. This part can be translated as below as well.

If you seek a life with a cool brain then your life will become lifeless. If you seek a life with a passionate heart then your life will become alive.

This thought is important when we think about Shi Lu's paintings as he himself commented and emphasizing by saying " In other words as the proverb says "You wear out iron shoes in hunting around, when all the time it's easy to be found!. （是所谓“踏破铁鞋无觅处，得来全不费功夫”也。） " following this part. This was a big discovery for Shitao and we can share this.

The authors quoted the above in ＜Chapter of Lives＞ (2). Most of the Chinese great painters in his period insisted the importance of doing sketches while Shi Lu spoke very much of the importance of life itself as a painter. This remark also shows his personality.

4. Some paintings

The authors picked out some paintings including the following two showing simple but vivid beauty and poesy extracting from people's daily lives.

Capturing the essence
In traditional Chinese painting, artists sought to capture an animal’s spirit rather than its anatomy. This charming study is typical of Shi Lu’s animal works. The qualities of the gangly newborn calf are evoked with just a few, slight sweeps of the brush. (from: http://arts.tepapa.govt.nz/on-the-wall/fighting-in-northern-shaanxi/7548 (English))

Image result for 石鲁 new born calf

Newborn calf, 1964

(1) ＜Chapter of Creating Figures＞
神全于意，形备于法；无意无法，难传神貌。画贵全神，而神有我神、他神。入他神者，我化为物，入我神者，物化为我，合二为一则全矣。故我之观物，先神而后形，由形而后神。凡物我之感应莫先乎神交，无神虽视亦无睹。神先入为主，我则沿神而穷形，以动而制静。行熟而可默想，固当由写生而默写。然默想者非谓背临，乃潜移默化也。为此而想象翩跹，凝神聚思，一临纸素则入形出神，形而不克神，神不离形，出乎一意，统乎一笔矣。

(2) ＜Chapter of Lives＞

石鲁— 《学画录·生活章》

The Chinese title 《Life 生活》 reminds me of the Shitao's 蒙养（Concealment in nondifferentiation) and 生活（Spirit of life）. However, Shi Lu's 生活 is more like modern meaning of 生活（Life ）.

生活是画的源泉。画无生活若加工无原料。生活枯蝎，画必凋败。

Life is sources of painting. The painting with no life is like a unprocessed raw material. If the life is decayed and source-less his painting will become surely rotten and lifeless.

生活为宽广复杂变动不息之海洋。然流有主从，主流为时代之脉搏，泛舟当随主流。

Lives can be regarded as a vast and complicated ever changing ocean. Though the flows have the main stream and secondary ones, the main stream can be regarded as the pulse of the time a drifting boat follows the main stream.

然主从非截然割裂，主中有从，从中有主，善识水径者当明其联系也。为画而生活则画死，为生活而画则画活。

Even though the primary and the secondary are not clearly divided, the primary has the secondary in it and the secondary has the primary in it. When you paint primarily and live secondarily then your paintings are dead; when you live primarily and paintings follow your life then your paintings have life.

当有生活而求画，不当欲画而讨生活。直接参加生活，始能将生活移入内心。

To lead a life positively and them seek for painting. Do no drift a life aimlessly to aim for painting.
To actively participate in your life and society and then try to transfer your life to your heart.

间接旁观生活，只可将生活陈列于画面。饱餐生活当贪而无厌，咀嚼生活当细而不烦。观物当面面观、变动观、上下观、远近观、四时观、表里观。无所不观，无微不至，必熟才能活。

If not actively participate in your life and society and just looking them as a bystander then you can paint only as just laying down your life on painting paper. Having plentiful meal every time makes you never satisfied while appreciating your life in details makes you never tired. See things from different angles, see things changing, see things from the top and from the bottom, see things at near as well as from far away, see things from outside and from inside, see things without missing any points, see things in every details and then you become familiar with them and talk about them.

贪而无厌: (厌: 满足) Never be satisfied
面面观: 对事物作多方面的观察。To see a thing from many different angles.

生活之主体为人。观察体会人以类万物之情。观物细才深，观物广才远。若蜂之采百花而酿蜜，蚕之食桑叶而吐丝也。

The major actor of life is a person. Observe and experience the essence of every thing in the world. Observe things in every details and in deep. Observe things broadly and into far. Like a bee flying from one flower to another to collect honey and like a silk worm to produce silk by eating leaves.

观察生活洞悉物理，既要冷观、静观，更要热观、动观。要直观，亦要默观。

Observe the life and think clearly and deep about its nature, see it objectively, see it calmly, and further more see it passionately, see it actively, see it intuitively, and contemplate it as well.

凡物之形质动静神情姿态，若不能活现于心中，则不足以言画。

See the shape and essence of every thing, stationary and dynamic, its spirit and expression, its outlook and figure. If you are not able to make it appear vividly in your heart your verbal or visual expression shall insufficient.

活现: to appear vividly

画者观生活如赏画，才能使观画者如赏生活。人不留心者，画者当留心，人不为可观者，画者当观之，然后才能以画唤起人心。　

A painter should see the life as you appreciate paintings, then you can make a viewer to appreciate the life. A painter must remind that if a person cannot see a certain thing a painter must be able to see it and then the painter can make a person to find and see it.

画者观物当百看不厌，方使人观画一见钟情。刻意求生活，生活则不活，以情求生活，生活即活，是所谓“踏破铁鞋无觅处，得来全不费功夫”也。

A painter must see everything one hundred times without being tired, then he (she) can make a viewer to find and feel the soul of the of the painting. If you seek a painstaking life then your life will become lifeless. If you seek a passionate life then your life will become alive. In other words as the proverb says "You wear out iron shoes in hunting round,when all the time it's easy to be found!".

生活事物有大有小、有主有从、有正有反、有偏有侧、有平有奇、有里有外，画者所受求全，所识方真，所画方精。

The things around us are: some are large and some are small; some are principal some are subordinate; some are front some are back; some are vertical some are horizontal; some are ordinary some are extraordinary; some are inside some are outside. A painter must seek every thing he (her) see and feel, must know what are real and paint the essence of them.

＜有正有反、有偏有侧＞are difficult to translate into English. Some of this part is found in Shitao's 画谱 or Hua-p'u (or 画语录 or Hua-Yu-Lu) (Treatise on the Philosophy of Painting) Chapter 5 as well and a probably very common expression for Chinese painters.

笔墨章第五

山川万物之具体，有反有正，有偏有侧，有聚有散，有远有近，有内有外，有虚有实，有断有连，有层次，有剥落，有丰致，有飘缈，此生活之大端也。

The English translation of this part is as follows:

"
To paint the reality of mountains, streams and the manifold things, depict the back and the front, the different aspects (vertical and horizontal), that which is clustered or scattered, near or distant, inside or outside, vacant or solid, broken or connected, gradation and roughness, richness and elegance, and misty vagueness.
"

有偏有侧 means more like ＜sided, slant＞(or some other meanings) than ＜vertical and horizontal＞

Among the above there some contrast combinations quoted often in Chinese painting text books.

back and front
vertical and horizontal
clustered or scattered
near or distant
vacant (not shown, not seen, not existing) or solid (shown, seen, existing)
broken or connected

These are very important contrast factors making a painting attractive, harmonious, direction and even dynamic (pictures have the 2D and still nature basically).

画蒙生活为营养，生活藉画以显精神。画者当吃进生活尔后吐出艺术，若牛吃草而产乳也。从生活到艺术自有一番内功，非以模拟为能，如实为真。盖如实之实小实也，模仿之能小能也，而艺术之为艺术，乃在大真大实、至情至感上分高下、深浅、邪正矣。

Paintings takes Life as nourishment. Life shows Spirit though paintings. A painter keeps eating Life then produces paintings just as a cow keeps eating grasses and then produces milk. From Life to attain Art (Painting) there are a training method: Coping is not a recommended ability; See Reality as truth. But Seemingly Real is not a real reality and truth. Coping is a minor ability; Art for Art; Only in Truth Reality is seen; Mind and sense have high and low; deep and shallow, right and wrong.

Note:内功

1) 苦练内功的模式是：“严格管理+搞好服务”。
First, the model is hard skills: "strict management and good service +. "

2) 所谓的练内功，就是要打造企业的竞争优势。
The so-called "self-strengthening is to establish a competitive advantage."

画者体验生活如淘沙金，若非斗金过眼不视，则生活之金不知流逝多少。生活之美无穷，具慧眼者自能于沙中别金。

A painter's experiencing life is like washing out gold from sands. Even if you wash many sands if you do not have eyes to see how much gold in Life flow away from you. The beauty in Life is unlimited. Only those who have eyes to see can collect gold among the sands.

生活之矿藏在人民心中，而勘察开采之术无它，惟在将心比心也。

The resources of Life lie in the people's mind but there are no method of investigating and exploiting them. Only to put the mind of yourself in somebody else's mind.

将心比心: to put oneself in somebody else's position.

生活非千里以外去寻，亦非黄道吉日才有，画者若眼时时向下，即无时无处不在生活中矣。
画者眼中无处不有天地。以小观大，以深量宽，以细衡整，如此则所养扩充矣。行万里路与落十年户当俱有，浮萍生涯，岂能放出生活之花。

落户: 在異地定居

The life is not that you should go one thousand miles to find, not that you can encounter on a lucky day. If a painter always use his eyes around him / her, any time any where a life can be found. Life exists in no other place than a painter's eyes. A large thing can be seen in a small thing. A vast space can be seen in a deep place. Right study and consideration should be made in details. By these ways a wide and meaning full life can be obtained. To travel ten thousand miles and to live in a foreign place for ten years then you can attain a meaningful life. You cannot get a fruitful life by leading a easy life.

-------
The original Chinese text continues and worth reading. My translation into English may continue in future.

置身于生活斗争之外者，艺术之智慧与灵感不会降临在冰冷之头上。
生活不仅供养艺术之原料，是创作之源泉，思想之燃料，更当是陶冶我之熔炉。画者不经过生活之锤炼，岂能去锤炼艺术。

我的心永远不死。严酷的生活，把我锤炼成钢头铁臂，经过亿万年的思考，我终于找到了生活的真谛:闪光的青春，不能装在享受者的囊袋里;只有在创造者的手中，才会光辉熠熠!对于黑暗，我不会适从它，我要用千度烈焰把它烧死—也许到头来，也毁灭了我自己，但我纯洁的心，永远不会死去!--看我进击的雄姿，看我燃烧的足迹看我火红的历史。

－－－－－

sptt

Asnet Art Gallery

Monday, December 21, 2015

Asnet Art Gallery （亚讯画廊） 4th Anniversary messaage

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Shi Lu (石鲁) - 4, One article on Shi Lu's 学画录

Newborn calf, 1964

石鲁—《学画录·造型章》

笔墨章第五