Ever since Water, this large masterpiece oil painting of realistic style, was published in 1995, Wang Shaolun, associate professor at Central Academy of Fine Arts and tutor of master degree, have come into the focus of visual arts circle. Living up to everyone’s expectation, he has continuously presented new works. With great ambition and pragmatic measures by step, he has made one after another achievement in his art career. 

Water is Wang Shaolun’s graduation work. It is quite amazing for such a young artist in his twenties to adopt a realistic theme in close relation to mountain farmers’ life consisting of dozens of figures as his painting composition, which manifests his boldness of vision. As to character portrayal, painting composition, spatial management and color tone, he has attained a perfect level in this painting. Especially we are delighted to find his efforts and effect in moulding characters of varied ages and genders in a specific circumstance. Thanks to this painting, Wang Shaolun has come to the fore among his peers, and a good message is conveyed through this painting that a young oil painter full of vim and vitality takes his active part in Chinese painting arena. His unusual self-confidence and composure is attributed to not only his artistry and characters of tenacity and perseverance, but also his conviction that oil painting art is for reflecting people’s living status and complicated feelings and his actual experiences at the bottom of rural areas. Holding painting brush at hand, he will naturally recall those familiar figures and troubling problems in their living. It is particularly important that Wang Shaolun did share those farmers’ anxiety, anguish caused by lack of water and their longing for water. He can even tell stories of those figures for a whole night. At this historic moment when China enters a heyday of reform and opening up and urban residents become richer and richer, this young artist vividly depicts farmers’ difficulty in getting water from wells in the remote area, which demonstrates its strong realistic significance. 

In Wang Shaolun’s understanding, modeling is a necessary basic skill for a realistic painter, while the comprehensive cultural and artistic cultivation is compulsory for every and each master of mature style. Take a look at his exquisite portraits, sketches, and body paintings, and you’ll find his devoted pursuit in combination of composition and color, in-depth reflection of objects and presentation of his own subjective feeling, all of which he concludes as fundamental. With full attention to modeling, he has conducted a detailed and profound research on how to achieve resemblance at high level without limitation of original shape. Ultimately, he will break through the original shape to reach the essence. Wang Shaolun is particular about the integrated painting, spatial integration and harmony of objects, and harmony of black, white and grey while giving swing to detailed parts in the whole painting. He also makes study of Western classics, learns traditional art approach in realism, ponders carefully over the similarity and difference, and then introduces Chinese traditional freehand brushwork into the realistic oil painting creation. About this trial, Wang Shaolun holds that the realistic feature of oil painting such as solid 3D effects, abundant colors and texture must be preserved.