About the artist Liu Yi
Artist Liu Yi was born in 1958 in Shanghai. He is currently deputy director of the Fine Art Design Department of the Shanghai Institute of Applied Technology and Deputy Director of the Watercolor and Gouache Arts Committee of the Shanghai Artists Association. He is an influential painter in contemporary Chinese watercolor painting.
When viewing the watercolor paintings of artist Liu Yi, especially the extremely difficult watercolor portraits, one will be amazed at his ability to capture the human form and his special style.
Viewers will be captivated for a long time by the atmosphere of his painting as if it were covered in a mist, and you won’t want to take your eyes off it.
His watercolor painting is surprisingly beautiful and has resonated widely nationally and internationally.
Painter Liu Yi said: “Watercolor is an art form that always works through random and spiritual elements, and it is also an art form that demonstrates the ability to synthesize and control paintings. For more than 20 years, I have been fascinated by its content and charm.
Artist Liu Yi
- Member of the International Masters of Watercolor Association
- Member of China Artists Association
- Director of Shanghai Artists Association
- Vice Chairman, Art Committee of Watercolor, Shanghai Artists Association Visiting Professor of Guangxi Arts University and Qujing Normal University
- Tutor of China (International) Watercolor Senior Research Class Tutor of Spanish EPC Art Courses
- Permanent Judge of Universal Watercolor Exposition of IWS
- Awarded the “Honorary Award for Outstanding Art” by Thailand’s Ministry of Culture and recommended as “Realistic Watercolor Master”
- Awarded the “Special Contribution Award of World Art” at the 2016 Varna International Watercolor Spirit Exhibition in Bulgaria
Watercolor Paintings by Master Artist Liu Yi
Qin Si - Series
Ballet is one of the main themes in Liu Yi watercolor paintings for many years.
The Qin Si Series are the works based on Russian ballet dancers, inspired by my interview with Malinski Ballet actresses in St. Petersburg. Musical elements added to the pictures mainly reflected my pursuit of the aesthetic taste of music, dance, and watercolor art, in order to perfectly express the combination of shape, charm, rhyme, and poetry.
The Inspiration of Ivoso-New Ballet 2012
The winner of the second prize at the “2013 International Watercolor Society, International Watercolor Competition”
I have and color rhyme and In the conception of The Inspiration of Ivoso-New Ballet, I took the historic remnants of Ivoso’s wall as the background, and with the rhythm and cadence of watercolor, and through the body language and lyric elements of modern ballet, I performed an emotional exchange across the borders and generations, to show the impromptu exaggeration different from traditional ballet and the connotation of capriciousness and modern ballet dance.
Swan Rhyme-VI 2013
A work at the “10th China Art Festival-National Excellent Art Exhibition”
The expression of the ballet theme with “Water Language” is a self-schema that reflects the metropolitan complex and exquisite taste.
The creation of this work forms a mild and hazy color atmosphere with a weak contrast between light gray and warm brown. With appropriate dry and wet control, the Subjective layout of the light angle creates a noble and elegant actor image.
The painting uses Arches rough-painting paper, Which is characterized by soft watercolor connection, which is suitable for expressing the soft and delicate texture of the skin of the character.
Swan Rhyme-VI 2009
A work at the first “Shanghai Zhujiajiao International Watercolor Biennale”
The creation of “Swan Rhyme” series represented my attempt to pursue changes in picture composition, emphasize innovation and creativity, and endow ballerinas with new styles of subjective implication in posture combinations.
In the composition, based on the natural postures of the two ballet dancers, combined with the self-created design style, looking for the best light source, and the dance images suitable for expression were carefully choreographed. In terms of colors, attention was paid to coordination, unity and subtle changes, in a quest for a more ballet temperament of ink paintings cham.
Purple Charm of Dance 2017
In 2016, at the Sino-Russian International Watercolor Invitational Exhibition, more than 30 watercolor painters gathered at St. Petersburg State University of Art and Design in Russia for demonstration and exchange on the spot in a way never seen before. During the exhibition, the artists strolled through the art palace, entered the world of masters, and enjoyed Russian ballet.
The watercolor painting “Purple Charm of Dance” is the creative experience after this trip to Russia which depicts the scenes of actors and actresses exploring and discussing ballet dance postures.
Chinese Dai Girl 2013
Award-winning work at “2014 International Watercolor Competition” in France
The work is based on the lives of ethnic minorities in the Red River Basin in Yunnan, China. In the picture, a Huayao Dai girl in Yunnan in a red and green dress and a bright-colored and shiny cherry flower fringe and silver bells, shows her nobleness and luxury through her elegant posture and colorful and subtle decorations, radiating the refreshing aroma.
As an inseparable part of the overall costume, the bamboo hat is a common living utensil used in the Red River Basin, it comes in various shapes and is full of ethnic characteristics, and has unique aesthetic value, showing the wisdom and artistic talent of the Dai people The bamboo hat can be worn both flatly and sideways, adjustable in angle as a sun shield. It is also one of the identification features of the local Dai.
The lush green leaves in the picture seem to have no artificial colors, accompanied by sporadic pristine white flowers; the picture is subtle and delicate with fresh and bright colors, fragrant and vivid.
Journey to the Sun 2019
In China, there are thousands of old mothers who shoulder the heavy burden of life in their remote hometowns. They spare no effort, bravely take on responsibilities, care for their children and grandchildren, and compose beautiful ballads with their industrious hands.
This was the realistic expression method I adopted, with a real-life story recorded with a paintbrush: an old mother was wading across the river with hay on her back, a wooden staff, and a grandson in her arms. The clenched fists and the bright eyes of the little grandson and the smiling face of the old mother give people strength and faith in life.
Those young people fighting for a better life away from home, please often go home, where your old mothers and children are.
