当人类社会的发展进入到数码时代之时，整个生活形态都来了个彻底的改变。互联网搜寻速度的不断提升，正标志着这个高科技时代闪电式生活节奏的来临。事物发展和更新的速度往往令人无所适从，面对这种时空的压力，人们只有显示出一种茫然的无奈。无疑，高科技可以带领人类走进便捷与高效率生活的新篇章;然而其所付出的代价，就是传统生活秩序与戮力创新心态的失衡，以及自然环境和天然资源的迅速消失。人们在享用高科技的辉煌成果之同时，往往更为缅怀濒临消逝的自然生态，与一种和穆的、田园式生活的诗趣。

　　数年前自纽约归来设立工作室，深入到广东珠三角采风，先后到中山、东莞等各地水乡收集素材。今天珠三角的巨变，对于一个成长于斯，但已离乡三十余载的艺术家而言，当地的风物，除了物质生活条件的极大改观之外，周遭生态环境的剧变，才是真正触动其心灵的一种视觉上的冲击。昔日的水乡农田，多被烟囱林立的厂房或风格奇特的居住楼宇所覆盖;高速公路的便捷，把河涌纵横的珠三角串联为一繁荣的经济整体，已无复往日悠闲的摆渡风情。诚然，经济的急剧转型让民众在短短的时间内致富，摆脱一穷二白的恐惧已经不再是遥不可及的梦想。可是农村的工业化和城市化所付出的代价，必然是环境的污染以及绿色空间的消失。纵然今日的环保意识让发展的规划得到合理的调整，但已经失去了天然特色的风物，恐难再现。记忆里少年时嬉戏于其中的绿色空间，那种鲜嫩透明的空气感，已被灰色尘垢覆盖的风景所取代。

　　固然，从整体而言，乡村城市化的量变依然局限在沿着交通线的焦点地区，岭南的绿色风情以及鲜丽的四时蔬果今天依然是珠三角引以为傲的特色。那风姿绰约的香蕉、晶莹璀璨的荔枝、硕果磊磊的木瓜、鲜红炙热的火龙果、河涌树荫的小舟、古旧民居的倒影，都触动了我的恋乡情怀。儿时的美好记忆，不期然地与现实所见环境相互交融。纵使今日的蕉林已非昔时之翠绿，如今的河涌倒映亦非往日之透明;但空气及水源的污染痕迹并没有削弱我对岭南乡土的感情，反而使我萌生了描绘岭南田园风景的念头。这种创作冲动的来源，除了原始乡情的驱使之外;更重要的一点，就是以一个青少年时带着中国文化背景远离家乡之后，在西方艺坛游历了三十年的艺术家的眼光，所观察到的岭南风物的特色，以及一种混和着东方感性诗情和西方理性剖析的田园风景的新视象。如果没有这种新视象作为支撑点，纯粹以记录的方式来描绘美丽的田园风物的话，作品将会失去艺术上的探索意义。

　　这种所谓新视象乃是通过三个层面体现出来的。其一，以个人的视角去观察物象，从而确定描绘物象的焦点。它并不在于发掘别人看不见的景物的死角，而往往是人们熟视无睹的最易忽略的寻常的东西;然而它需要艺术家以极为个人的角度选材、取舍去构成画面，乃至营造气氛，最终传递出作者的个人观念。它可以是大特写的近镜取景，偏取物象的一角;也可以是一个袤阔的、涵盖不同绘画元素的新空间。其二，绿色为岭南风景的主调及精神，而绿色又是最难运用之色彩。西方艺术家在开拓绿色的色域层次上树立了不少典范，我于旅美期间的研究和实践所积累的经验，促使我以一个新的角度去诠释和发挥岭南绿色的特质。那种带着迷蒙水汽而炙热浓郁的绿色空间，在阳光折射下所呈现的鲜嫩的透明感，正是引人入胜之处。其三，当代写实绘画的个人观念，无须简单地借助形式上的构成来彰显;而是通过画家洞悉物象的真情，深刻地剖析物象的本质，以超越传统的现代人的语言和技法去演绎恒古有之的题材，而将其置诸现代时空之中，此应为当代艺术家创作的挑战性和重要意义。

　　“绿色空间”这个命题，除了昭示我这个近作系列所探索的内容与精神之外，尚有一种环保意识的寄望。在我近年的岭南田园风景作品中所呈现的空间，是一种清新、透明、宁静而未经污染的环境。虽然取材自珠三角乡间的田园或河道，亦保留了当地风景的特色;但是画中那种干净澄明的空气感，那种没有尘埃和灰霾的光感，即便是带着华南的水汽，也显现出一种净澈的透明，这种景象在现实生活中已经不易找到。然而，它可以带给观众一种特别温馨的亲切感，甚至可唤起他们儿时在田野中玩耍的记忆，那正是人们心目中所向往的自然天趣。作品是现实的，但其中隐藏着一种超现实的意象，那是一种对未经污染的环境的怀恋，而这种环境或许正是今天人们所努力追寻的自然生态。如果观众可以在我的作品中感受到一种静谧而令人向往的天然野趣、一种超脱了现实烦嚣生活的安宁，那么我的绘画除了达成在纯艺术层面上的个人追求之外，尚能与观众分享我们现实生活环境中弥足珍贵的自然美。相信这就是“绿色空间”这个岭南风景系列所揭示的更深一层的意义。

　　而经由“绿色空间”所引申出来的“不尽的怀思”，则是一语双关。其一，如上所述，是面对日益遭受污染和缩小的岭南绿色田园，缅怀往日葱翠、洁净、透明的生态空间;其二，是对我的艺术伴侣 、今年(2013年)才离世的妻子的无限追思。我笔下的绿色空间，正蕴含着她一贯以来对我的艺术事业全力支持的精神，以及她对美好的故园风物的怀恋之情。

　　When the age of digital came, the form of our society and living changed fundamentally. The speed of websites accelerated indicated that the world of high tech invaded and altered the rhythm of our lives. Such kind of development and changes always bewildered us and made us lost in nowhere. Facing such pressure, people showed a sense of reluctance. Without any doubt, technologies turned over a new leaf for a high quality of life. But the price for this is to upset the balance and ability of innovations in our traditional lives, plus the diminishing of natural resources and the beauty of our environment. At the time people enjoying the fruit of high tech, we should always look back to our lost world of natural beauty, harmonic and poetic life of simplicity.

　　When I came back from New York a couple of years ago, I went to the delta of River Pearl, Zhongshan and Dongguan for field studies and collected a lot of ideas. I left this homeland for more than thirty years. For an artist who was born and raised here, every change, including the environment and way of living, made a huge impact on me visually and deeply touched my heart. The water-filled paddy fields were replaced by factories or living quarters of different styles. The network of highways linked the delta area into an economic unit. We could no longer enjoy the ease and relax feelings of small boat crossing the rivers the same way as we were young. Of course, people get rich through such rapid change of economic development. The fear of poverty is a long forgotten memory. But the price of industrialization and urbanization of such rural area was huge: we lost our green land and replaced by pollution. Even though the concept of environmental protection was introduced and developed, we had already lost the beauty of our natural environment and they would never come back again. The memories of playing within the green surroundings with fresh air were overwhelmed by the grey hue of dusty scenery.

　　All in all, the quantity of urbanization was limited to the area along those busy traffic networks. The beautiful green areas of southern China, fresh fruit and vegetable of all seasons from the delta of Pearl River still remain as attractive as usual. Imagine the bananas, laichees, papayas and other local fruits, small boats under the shade of the trees by the water, the shadows of houses along the river bank; all reminds me of my unforgettable homeland. Such pictures mixed with what I see now in my mind. Even though the banana trees are not as green as usual, the water is not as clear as the time when I was young, the pollution of water and air and other deficit won’t minimize my feeling of love towards my homeland. On the contrary, I have the feeling of putting them down on my painting canvases again. The urge of such creation derives not only from the love of homeland, but more importantly, from the eyes of an artist who left his homeland and culture for more than thirty years and wandered around in the Western art world. The scenic areas I observed in the Southern China created a brand new mixture of the sense and feeling of the Eastern and the reasoning of the Western world. Without such foundation ofa new vision,using a simple way of recording the beauty ofnatural scenery would be meaningless. The works will miss the true philosophy of art itself.

　　Such new vision was expressed in three levels: Firstly, it looks through the lens of personal perceptions and confirmed the focus of the painted objects. It doesn’t care about if some blind spots were discovered by the observers or not, but on those easily missed common things. But it needs the artist to depict, compose and capture them. Eventually, it expresses the concepts created by the author. It can be a close-up shot, a partial section, or spacious area covers a new section by different elements of painting. Secondly, Green is the main hue and spirit of Southern China, but it is one of the most difficult colors to manipulate. The artists of the Western world developed vast platform for the use of green. When I stayed in the States, I researched, studied and acuminated a lot of experiences so that I could fully utilize and elaborate the functions and uniqueness of the greenness of Southern China. The most attractive part is the feelings of water vapor and warm spaces of green that shines in the reflections under the sun. It gives us the feeling of freshness and transparency. Thirdly, contemporary realistic style artists’ personal concepts don’t rely simply on the form toscaffolding and express. Rather, they make use of true observations to understand and analyze the self-nature of the materials, in order to overpass the traditions painting languages and techniques to elaborate those topics from the long line of history. Then, place it onto the modern world. This should be the challenges and importance of contemporary artists’ creations.

　　The title “Green Space” shows not only the nature and spirit of my works, but an expectation of environmental protection. The recent works of scenic and landscape paintings of Southern China displaced a space of fresh, transparent, tranquil and uncontaminated environment. Although I deliberately picked the river ways and farm lands of the delta of Pearl River as my target,I also preserved the scenic of the naturalenvironment, especially the local characteristics for my paintings. But the kind of crystal clear and airy feeling, plus the brightness clearness free from dust and smog, they showed the transparent feelings even though with the humid style of weather in Southern China. It couldn’t be found in the real world. Even so, it brings a cozy feeling and reminds us that we had a happy time playing in the fields. That is the natural feelings that people expected. My works are in realistic style. But there is a kind of surrealistictouch hidden inside. It clings to the love of uncontaminated environment. This may be the utopia that people are searching for nowadays. If people can find tranquility, natural beauty and free of urban bustle in my works, I am reaching not only the level of pure artist but share the valuable natural beauty of the real world with my audiences. This is the true and deeper meanings of the title “Green Space”, which features a series of paintings that depicting vivid sceneries in southern China.

　　Further developed from the “Green Space” is an idea of “Infinite Memories”. Actually there are two folds of meaning of such memories: firstly as described above, we are facing the pollution and diminishing of the green fields of Southern China. We deeply cherish the fresh green, purity and almost transparent habitat; secondly, my memory goes to my beloved wife who passed away lately. The Green Space under my brushes remains the spirits of support and the everlasting memories of the beautiful hometown from her.