“笔墨的泛化”是80年代以来中国画变革的一个重要趋势。这是一个自然的历史进程，因为“笔墨”的概念并不是封闭的，而是一个不断生长的概念。在古代，它经历了一个从工具材料意义的笔、墨到技法意义的笔法、墨法，又到审美对象意义的笔意、墨趣的概念内涵的暗转，从而变化出适应不同时代审美需求的中国画形态。我们今天没有理由不对“笔墨”进行新的拓展。这种拓展在两个方面上进行：一是从原来的纯笔墨形式向色彩语言的方向开拓，一是在纯笔墨形式内进行更深入也是更广泛的探索。张玉茂就是在第二个向度上不倦地做“泛化笔墨”探索的卓有成就的中国画家。

　　张玉茂对笔墨的拓展基于他对中国画历史发展的全面认识。他认为中国画是一个开放的系统，它具有容纳各种新手法的极大涵容性;而历史上真正开宗立派的大师都是在技法上为这个系统带来了新的东西，从而中国画的形式语言才能与时共进。为此，几十年来，他一直着迷于中国画新法的探索与实践。他首先即在更广泛的意义上理解中国画的“笔”;他把能着墨添色的工具都称之为“笔”;在实践上，他也正是这样不拘一格地调节器动手中之笔的，举凡笔刷、排笔、喷枪、笤帚等都可以被他当作笔来使用。

　　其实，这不只是一种简单的工具上的变通。他是想通过多种多样的工具的使用来实现中国画绘画语言的新组合;或者说，为着绘画语言的新组合，他不得不使用一切能够把色、墨固着在纸上的广义的笔。在他的绘画语言中，笔线已不再具有唯一至上的地位，而是，用毛笔画出笔线与用其它工具生成的线痕、肌理并存，从而幻化出他作品的深邃的意境与丰富的效果。如果我们承认笔线的功力已不再是中国画的唯一重要的标准，那么我们也应有理由把张玉茂在内的诸多画家探索的新样态的线痕、肌理，看作是为中国画的语言变革提供了新的词语。

　　还不止于此。因为我们在张玉茂的作品中，不仅看到了笔线与肌理的并存，而且更看到了这种并存背后的两种绘画理念的消长，这就是中国画原有的“书写”成分的相对减弱，而習见于油画、版画中的“制作”成分的相对强化。因此，拓印、泼墨、泼彩成了张玉茂绘画的重要表现手段。这是他在泛化笔墨的探索中，于绘画操作层面上的拓展。拓印、泼墨、泼彩在宣纸上所呈现的各种奇幻的迹象无疑大大丰富了中国画笔墨的表现力。这也使得张玉茂在作画时能够不拘成法、新意迭出。他或先在纸上勾皴，待布置出山石、草树、瀑布等的位置后，再因其位置而拓印、泼墨、泼彩，在这一过程中，色墨任其流淌、冲撞、渗透;由于宣纸的晕化特点，这些色墨便神奇地“破”了开始时的勾皴的设计意匠，而且，这些变化多端的色墨迹象，又能诱发出作者更新的想象。在这个基础上，再进一步高速意象，使景物浑然一体。他或在开始时就用淋漓的色墨铺陈出形物恍惚的效果，这里面隐存着无尽的意象;他会面对这张画纸而数日冥想，当这其中的某种意象一旦激起他创作的灵感，他就立即会操笔把他固着在画纸上。华琳《南宗秘诀》中曾说“画到无痕时候，直似纸上自然应生此画……画到斧 凿之痕具减，亦如是尔”。在张玉茂的作品前我们会有这样的感受。

　　“意”、“境”、“情”、“景”是山水画中重要的审判范畴。而造境的山水就在“意”与“境”之间更偏重于“意”; “情”与“景”之间更偏重于“情”。家乡的山水已经融入张玉茂的生命之中，这种感情已潜注到他的创作中。他在作画时充分发挥了“意”与“情”，从而在他的作品中营造出主观化和情感化的“不尽之境”。他常常久久地静坐在长白山的坡梁上而不动一笔;他满目含笑似乎在倾听着那流水和山风的真言。当人真正进入到“予与山川神遇而迹化”的境界中，他还会顾及到那一山一石的真实吗?张玉茂的作品把握着大自然永恒不变的真实;我们感动于他的作品也正是因为它生动地传达了这种真实。

　　造境的山水便“以气韵为主，形模寓乎其中”。张庚《浦山论画•论气韵》云：“气韵有发于墨者，有发于笔者;有发于有意者，有发于无意者。何谓发于无意者?当其凝神注想，流盼运腕，初不意如是而忽然如是是也。谓之为足则实未足，谓之未足则又无可增长率加，独得于笔情墨趣之外，盖天机之勃露也”。可以说，张玉茂的山水气韵就是“发于无意者”。这一方面是由于他强化了拓、泼的色墨迹象的无意识因素;另一方面也由于他在创作时无论行笔、置景都能依照自然的驱使而进行。这也正如《竹嫩画媵》所说“及其运笔后，云泉树石，屋舍人物，逐一因其自然而为之。所谓笔到意生，如淦父入桃源，渐逢佳境，初意不至是也”。张玉茂的作画方法是勾皴与各种墨色迹象的巧妙结合，尽管墨色迹象主要由带有制作性的拓、刷、搓、擦、泼、洒等技法生成，但他们呈现在画纸上之后就完全变成一种自然的形态，即是一种“初意不至是也”的形态;这种形态在提示着他的勾皴与置景，它的每一根笔线的划出，每一个景物的安排也都是在这形态的基础上而步步生发的。这就如同下棋落子一样，后一子总是依照前一子的棋势而落下的，子子追落而布置出一盘棋。这样的作画使张玉茂在下笔时了无拘滞，心、手、眼达到高度默契，笔笔下去，一气呵成;同时，山石、树木、云水等造型元素间也是彼此顾盼，相映成辉。他的作品也就因此而元气贯注，酣畅淋漓。

　　最近几年，张玉茂又创作了大量以荷花为题材的作品。这类作品在创作观念和技法上与他的山水画是一脉相承的;我们同样可以像对待其山水画那样而追寻其荷花作品的作画，并领受其饱满的气势与深远的意韵;同时，我们也在他的荷花作品中看出，他的技法更加纯熟，思考更加深刻。特别是在画面构成上，他不但依然能够很好地把握虚实关系，而且更加强化了色彩的对比，浓艳的红荷在浓墨的墨块映衬下显得格外响亮，“出污泥而不染”的品格跃然纸上。

　　“画法之妙，人各意会而造其境，故无定法也”。张玉茂真正理解了这句画训，并将做出永远不倦的探索。

　　Painting With No Traces

　　——— Yumao Zhang's Painting Creation

　　Kecheng Niu

　　Yumao Zhang’s expanding on ink and brushes was based on his thorough understanding and comprehension on Chinese Painting’s history. Zhang considers Chinese painting as an open system that is able to contain diverse new techniques. Also, most great masters from history have brought new elements to Chinese Painting through diverse paining methods, and kept the pace of Chinese Painting with the times. Therefore, for decades, Zhang has devoted himself in exploring and practicing new techniques of Chinese Painting. He thought more widely about traditional painting tools, and actually, Zhang considered anything that can apply ink and colors as tools. Practically, Zhang tried everything to paint artworks, including different types of brushes, spray guns, even brooms.

　　Actually, this is not simply changing on painting tools. Yumao Zhang wants to reorganize the painting language of Chinese Painting by using diverse painting tools. In other words, Zhang has to use anything that may apply ink and colors on papers in order to create new combinations of painting languages. In his painting language, stokes are no long at the most important position, but the texture and trace that are created by all kinds of painting tools, which generate deep thoughts and abundant effects on his artworks. If we admit that the technique of strokes is not the only criteria of Chinese Painting, then we should consider the new forms of textures and traces created by Yumao Zhang and other painters as new voices of the revolution of Chinese Painting.

　　Furthermore, we not only see the coexistence of stokes and textures in Yumao Zhang’s paintings, but also see the changing of theories behind the coexisting techniques, which means the “writing” element is weakening, whereas the “making” part is strengthening. Therefore, rubbing, splashing ink and colors, and many other painting techniques have become Zhang’s critical expressing ways of painting. This is Zhang’s expanding on painting methods during his exploration of generalizing Chinese Painting. Rubbing and splashing show more abundant effects on papers and enhance the expression of Chinese Painting. Besides, the new painting technique also makes Zhang be more free and creative. Zhang may firstly draw outlines on the paper. After he arranges the position of rocks, rocks, and cascades, Zhang will rub and splash on the objects he delineated. During the process, ink and colors will flow randomly, crash on each other, and permeate into the paper. Because of the feature of the rice paper, ink and colors will disperse and break the outline. Also, the random changes can inspire the painter with more imaginations. Plus, Zhang will imagine and paint quicker, combines the object with the background. Zhang may also splash ink and colors at the very beginning to create a faraway scene which is comprised of endless meanings. Zhang may face the blank paper for several days, while as long as he comes up with some ideas, he will hammer down the scene from his head on the paper. Lin Hua in Secrets of Nan Zongonce saidthat when painters leave nothing on the paper, there seems the painting comes out itself; so as to paint harsh marks. This is the exact feeling how Zhang’s paintings provide for the audience.

　　The landscape of Yumao Zhang’s hometown has already blended into his life, and Zhang has integrated his emotions to his hometown into his paintings. Zhang not only paints with ink and colors, but also combines meanings and passion, and hence his artworks usually have a subjective feeling of endless. He always sits on the Changbai Mountain quietly without painting anything, and seems listening to the voice of flowing water and blowing wind. When a person reaches the level of the unity of nature and humanity, he will not focus on the detailed reality of each object. Yumao Zhang’s artworks have moved the audience with the vivid but not intended reality.

　　Yumao Zhang’s artistic conceptionis oriented from involuntariness. This is because Zhang enhances the uncontrolled factors of rubbing and splashing. On the other hand, Zhang is always painting under a natural and unconscious status. As Zhu Nen Hua Ying (Farewell Painting in Bamboo)says, after painting, clouds and springs, trees and rocks, and houses and characters will all together be combined naturally. The so called meaning comes with painting is like father of Gan enters the Xanadu, in which he encounters thewonderful scenery, though he did not imagine so. Yumao Zhang’s painting method is a subtle combination of delineating and splashing. Although Zhang’s painting method is mostly comprised of intended technique such as rubbing, brushing, splashing, and spraying, whereas it turns out naturally on the paper. Such method is like mentioning the audience that each object, each stoke, even each detail of the composition is based on the natural form of the painting. Such method also makes Zhang paint his artworks without any hesitation. Zhang’s heart, hands, and eyes have a highly tacit cooperation. Zhang paints everything at one stretch, and each object competeswith each other. Therefore, Yumao Zhang’s paintings are merry and lively.

　　In recent years, Yumao Zhang has created a series of paintings based on lotuses. This type of painting has the same style of Zhang’s landscape, as well as his artistic concept. Meanwhile, we can tell that Zhang’s painting technique has become more skillful and his thoughts are much deeper. Especially Zhang’s composition, he not only manipulates the relationship between the blurry and clearness, but also enhances the contrast of colors. The bright-colored lotus becomes much brighter on the dark ink, and expresses the personality of preserving the moral integrity.

　　A motto of painting says that techniques are delicate that everyone has his own understanding and translation, and hence there is never a fixed way of painting. Yumao Zhang has a thorough comprehension of the motto and keeps exploring the secrets of painting.