Paintings by Falun Gong Practitioners: "Choice"

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[PureInsight.org] This painting is titled "Choice." I have learned many facts about the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China. When I learned that Ms. Qi Bingshu, granddaughter of the legendary Chinese artist Mr. Qi Baishi, was locked up in a psychiatric hospital as a dissident because she practices Falun Gong, I decided that I would reveal the fact through my painting that Falun Gong practitioners who are artists by profession have also become victims of Jiang Zemin's persecution. That's the reason why I chose torture at the psychiatric hospital as a subject.

I have chosen a young female Falun Gong practitioner as the protagonist in the painting. Her kind and peaceful composure is a sharp contrast to the depravity and wickedness of the Chinese police next to her. Although she is physically subjected to medical abuse, such as being injected with Thorazine, her heart is in an elevated realm because she is conforming to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance even at the darkest hour. Although she is physically suffering from the policemen's torture, she is a noble heart that never gives up pursuing beauty and virtue. She faces a ray of light where two angels come to her. One of the angels presents her a crown as a gesture of praise.

I imagine that she must be enduring a tremendous level of pain and suffering, but I only created a little frown on her face because I want to emphasize her compassion for the police who are torturing her. I believe that, as a Falun Gong practitioner, she must be unfailingly compassionate towards the depraved men who assist in the persecution.

This oil painting has many traits of a typical watercolor painting, such as the use of color, transparency of colors and the brush strokes. It looks more like a watercolor than an oil painting. I need to hone my oil painting skills. I have to admit that I am very much under the influence of watercolor painting techniques because I have painted a lot of watercolor paintings in the past. It is easier for me to apply watercolor painting skills. But I feel I have made a lot of progress since I started to create oil paintings to reveal the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China. Oil paintings allow me to express a theme in finer detail. There is a myriad of oil painting skills that are worth learning and practicing. Famous artists in history have left a lot of masterpieces of oil paintings for me to study and learn from. I truly feel it is very appropriate to portray the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in oil paintings.

Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2004/11/13/29905.html