This particular piece of work is based on my personal perception of how an artist may translate an idea into something concrete-a drawing or a painting. Actually, I instructed a new student of mine, who had recently decided to become my disciple, to start working on just a drawing, embarking on a process of creating a piece of work. From that point on, we both were drawn into this type of creative process, developing a drawing to this painting, working on the same painting for the next 11 months. We often worked till late at nights, devoting our time, thoughts and physical energy together.

As for my self, my first encounter with an exciting source of inspiration came quite early in my childhood days. I was only 11 or 12 when I went to a neighbourhood theatre showing one of the Chaplin’s films, black & white classics, in those pioneering days of moving picture. The film was so old with a lot of scratches on the film, but I was amazed by the “Snow” effect I saw on the screen. Somehow those “Black and White Dots” on the screen did not bother me, instead it drawn on me that all the moving images must have been formed by these small dots, some black and some white.

My intuition told me that these small dots were like small grains of sand, tiny grains of sand. With my hand I could scoop only a handful and let them slip through my fingers, these tiny grains of sand would immediately make a small mound on the ground. But if I could only have a lot of sands and pour them on the ground, I could surely create a mountain, a great mountain.

From that day on, a grain of sand, tiny grains of sand and what I could do with them never left me, for I have embraced the idea, inspiring me through the years. In practice, I have adopted it as a creative approach to my world of arts and culture. I actually encouraged my students to try something new, as part of a learning process. It began with a simple black ballpoint pen, cheapest in the market at the time, the Schneider. Then came images slowly and painstakingly formed by tiny black dots from a Schneider pen, hundreds, thousands, and hundred of thousand black dots from a common pen. I thought my students how images could be made from those dots, inspired by those dots on scratched film I saw many years ago.

Starting from just a dot, and more dots, a finger slowly appeared before your eyes, and then another, a thump, your own thump also appeared, and many more images, any images you wish to create with dots made from a simple ballpoint pen.

Having done that, my students at once picked up the idea, and went to find their own separate corners around my humble home-cum-studio, and started to create their own images. Occasionally, I would advise them here and there, giving them critiques whenever appropriate. My efforts soon proved to be fruitful, when they later managed to create their own exciting works, expressing themselves with a simple ballpoint pen. Gradually, my students learned how to exaggerate the forms, colours, masses and proportions here and there without compromising the quality of images and the message to convey. They soon realized that this approach had enabled them to create more powerful and more expressive works, a contrast to subdue and passive expressions they often found in most portraits. The bas-relief effect coming out from the forms and proportions offered some “Modern” flavors to their works, it was also noted.

It is, thus, fair for me to say that my students were the ones who elaborated my ideas and perceptions about things and matters. They were the ones who translated and transformed them into pieces of work, under my close supervision, guidance, or instructions. Similarly, they were encouraged to experiment with another medium as well, the oil. They actually created their own mountains from tiny dots, in the same manner as pouring sands into the grounds. The work was essentially made by numerous dots of Black oil paint, with small watercolour brushes.

Prior to this, I myself explored some possibilities for the content of this piece of work. I began my search with some pictures of Lord Buddha, world-famous personalities, with strong features, or pronounced characteristics, which included Jesus Christ, and others familiar world-renown figures, readily identified by most people. Any image which could capture the imagination of viewers.

I ended up with my own photograph, which people often said it had distinguished characteristics, with long hair, beard, and the penetrating eyes. I then decided that it could be a subject for my students to experiment and work on it in a more challenging manner. With my instruction given, my students began to paint my portrait in earnest, under close supervision nights and days.

Gradually, my face became a visionary landscape; my face a cracked stone cliff, my hair and beard trees and branches, vines and creeping plants, etc. At some points, I also suggested that there might be some spider web, and other elements integrated into it. At the high point of my forehead, between eyebrows, I specifically instructed them to change from cliff to floating clouds and mists giving a feeling of moving clouds across the cliff. But when it came to my eyes, I decided that nothing should be there, leaving empty, hollow eyes, preferring some areas of transparent or translucent to a total opaque effect. Having some areas to see through, or rather to “breath through” the image of a painting was we decided to create.

As their teacher, I imparted my knowledge of oil painting and shared all the techniques with my students, who needed constant care and advice before they became more matured and more confident of their own ways of creating valuable work.

This particular student of mine, a new comer at that time, was the one I helped open up new opportunity for him to continue his studies in Germany, with whatever goodwill I had. I soon found out that, in Germany, he had difficulty pursuing his creative endeavour under my influence. During his early years in Germany, everything he tried to accomplish seemed to be heading to a dead-end, without me as his mentor who once devoted time and energy to assist him closely. To help him struggling through his transformation period, I continued to offer him my advice by mails for some time.

Tang Chang
1984