翡翠（彩墨）
我曾经尝试用大色块来构图，想表现出什么意念或跟别人不一样的东西来，这是当时的作品之一。
仔细端详──小小的一块“绿”在大面积的“红”包围之下，竟然像翠玉一样的澄明剔透，耐看又好看。可见“万红丛中一点绿”也没有什么不妥的，反而更有韵致了。
钱松喦先生认为“中国传统水墨画用色简单，因而形成中国画色彩的独特风格。但是今天为了继承和发展，使国画色彩丰富起来，不妨兼用洋画颜料。”云云。
钱先生的话深得我心。记得读高中开始学水墨画的时候，老师要我们使用日本透明水彩代用传统国画颜料，原因是传统颜料容易褪色，种类也少，有时无法如意的表达出自己要的色调。老师说：用替代颜料有何不可？丰富又耐久，不必抱残守缺。
Emerald / ink and color painting
I once often used large patches of color in my compositions in an effort to express certain ideas or differentiate myself from other artists. This is one of my works from that period.
A close look reveals a small patch of green surrounded by a large expanse of red. Somewhat surprisingly, the green appears as gleaming and bright as a piece of green jade, which gives it great appeal and magnetism. We can see that there’s nothing wrong with having a spot of green in a great thicket of red, and this even lends the painting greater charm.
According to Chien Sung-yen, “The simple use of color in traditional Chinese ink and wash painting is what gives the colors in Chinese paintings such a unique character. However, in order to harmonize evolutionary development with preserving the past, we might as well use some foreign pigments to enrich the colors of traditional Chinese painting.”
Chien’s words touched a chord in my heart. I remembered that when we were beginning to study ink and wash painting in high school, our teacher wanted us to use transparent Japanese watercolors instead of the traditional pigments used in Chinese painting. His reasoning was that traditional pigments fade easily, come in relatively few types, and sometimes cannot readily produce the tones one wishes to express. His view was that there was nothing wrong with alternative pigments. Since they are richly varied and highly durable, why must we stubbornly use outdated materials? ＠
点阅【徐明义画集】系列文章。
责任编辑：昌英
