Five eagles drawn by Wei Feng are on display. [Photo by Li Hongrui/chinadaily.com.cn]

On a cold and gray winter afternoon last Saturday, people stopped in front of the bright ink paintings exhibited at the Naga Art Center in Beijing. Flying sparrows, golden-colored flowers, peacocks, roosters and eagles all vividly find their way in these paintings by Wei Feng.

As a leading master of Chinese freehand brush works, the 73-year-old Wei is well-known for his Central China style of ink painting.

Three people view Wei Feng's paintings at the Naga Art Center in Beijing on Dec 26, 2015. [Photo by Li Hongrui/chinadaily.com.cn]

"I was born in Henan province in Central China. In the Tang and Song dynasties (678-1279), a lot of celebrated painters in this area became very famous for their ink paintings of landscapes and formed a kind of style related to the Yellow River. People of this place are usually straightforward and unrestrained, so their paintings and calligraphy also bear a vigorous and forceful character, later becoming the Central China style", said Wei, who inherited the genre.

Just as the title of the exhibition Da Xiang Wu Xing (an idea of Taoism, meaning the grandest thing in the world has no material shape but their eternal soul), the aura and air of the birds and flowers are fully presented in Wei's works, rather than their shape. The birds and their creator share the same unrestrained character.

Two ink paintings by Wei Feng can be seen in the exhibit. [Photo by Li Hongrui/chinadaily.com.cn]

Perky birds

An aura of straightforwardness and force lies in his paintings. The birds, often eagles, roosters and heroes, all wear a powerful look.

Alone, they dash to their prey, spreading their wings with full ambition, looking at flowers steadily; in groups, they seem to plan to fight for something together or just compete with each other.

Sometimes, they just stare into the eyes of people who are viewing them, with an air of a king or queen, saying: "I am who I am" or "I am powerful".

A freehand brush painting of flowers by Wei Feng can be seen in the exhibit. [Photo by Li Hongrui/chinadaily.com.cn]

Burning flowers

Wei's flowers are anything but "soft ladies". Often in shades of golden yellow, red and purple, they are in full bloom with a tough posture. Like Wei's birds, the flowers also have an air of force. Vigorous lotuses are often illustrated with their stamens and seed pods.

Unlike Vincent van Gogh's strong yellow sunflowers blooming with passion, Wei's golden flowers are strong and bold, with each petal in full shape. The petals were drawn with a thick brush, leaving no traces of softness, only force.

A Chinese freehand painting of eagles by Wei Feng is on exhibit. [Photo by Li Hongrui/chinadaily.com.cn]

A strong willingness of life

Paintings never talk, but vigorous birds and flowers are "noisy" in Wei's works, telling people their strong will to live and prosper.

"Chinese freehand painting is thousands of years old and the most important thing is the combination of painting and calligraphy. I am still practicing my calligraphy and will try my best to have better Chinese ink paintings," said Wei, whose voice is as strong and forceful as a very young man's.

Three ink paintings by Wei Feng are on exhibit. [Photo by Li Hongrui/chinadaily.com.cn]

Wei Feng's biography

Master Wei was born in Anyang in Henan province in 1942. He specialized in Chinese freehand painting of birds and flowers, calligraphy and seal cutting of Jiaguwen, or "oracle bone script". He was honored as "Outstanding People's Artist" at the National Science and Technology Progress Award Conference in 2005.

A group of freehand brush works by Wei Feng are on exhibit. [Photo by Li Hongrui/chinadaily.com.cn]

About the exhibition

The exhibition displays 50 of Wei works and is sponsored by the Chinese Artists Association, Central Art and History Gallery, Henan Artists Association and People's Art Creation Company. 200 people from the art community and the media attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition.

The exhibition will be open until Jan 6, 2016.

Sparrows drawn by Wei Feng are on display. [Photo by Li Hongrui/chinadaily.com.cn]

Wei Feng's ink painting of herons and lotuses is a powerful piece of art. [Photo by Li Hongrui/chinadaily.com.cn]

Wei Feng expresses his views on Chinese freehand ink painting at the Naga Art Center in Beijing on Dec 26, 2015. [Photo by Li Hongrui/chinadaily.com.cn]