The painting shows a hermit scholar, holding a scroll of scriptures in his left hand, right hand open to express his thought, and standing on a red lotus leaf floating on the vast ocean.
The figure, lotus petal and the lines of the water is soft, flowing in a clean and fast manner, all seeming completed in one stroke. The colors setting of the mayflower gloryberry on the front of the the scholar’s robe and red lotus petal is thick but not garish, and the smudging of the sky and water with the same color reflects a scene of brightness when contrasted with the brightness of the light around his head and his white clothes. This implies chanting and reciting of the scriptures, seeking enlightments but finding it withint one’s own intrinsic nature, just like how free and serene it is to stand afloat on water, and there is no need to seek Dharma by travelling to the faraway Tientain Mountain.
简中｜男相观音
Paintings
Xia Jing Shan
color on silk
91.5x49
1974
題跋：誦經說法為如來欲見如來那如來飄立水上真自在脩安何必問天台
甲寅立春於洛省薰沐敬寫荊山居士
印記：吉羊（朱 文）、荊山畫記(朱 文)、楠竺居士（朱文）、夏氏荊山書畫（朱文） 、夏荊山印（朱文）、空雲水月（朱文）
bj4532
