The beauty of painted deities in temple art

The religious art of painted deities is unique to Taiwan. Following what seemed like a predestined opportunity over 30 years ago, artist Lin Ren-he (林仁和) entered the world of religious art painting. Learning the delicate brushwork and ingenuity of religious art from master painters of the last generation, the quality of Lin Ren-he’s creative work improved rapidly, taking him to the forefront of the Taiwanese spiritual art field almost overnight. His artistic footprint can be seen the length and breadth of Taiwan, and he is one of the few remaining descendants of this wonderful art form. He has studied under the eminent masters of temple folk painting, Pan Lin-shui (潘麗水) and Cai Cao-ru (蔡草如), from who he learned the traditional skills of character sculpting, as well as painting birds and flowers.

In addition, he formerly collaborated on a large-scale temple wall project with Jiang Qing-lu (江清露) - master of Chien Nien sculpture (cut-and-glue figurines) – where he learned classical clay modeling and color matching techniques. Afraid that this distinctively Taiwanese cultural asset will be lost to future generations, Lin Ren-he and others in the field are calling on the Ministry of Education to actively seek out talented young art students to collaborate with painters in the field, and foster talented temple painters for the future. 

The beauty of painted deities in temple art

URL:http://www.peopo.org/news/232687

(以下為中文對照)

寺廟工藝之美 門神彩繪篇 影音

照片

寺廟彩繪，是台灣特有的宗教藝術，彩繪師傅林仁和在30多年前，因緣際會踏入寺廟彩繪的領域，在前輩的提攜下，他開始了寺廟彩繪創作，細膩的工筆與巧思，讓他很快在這個領域發揮所長，其足跡踏遍台灣各地，是台灣寺廟彩繪少數傳人之一。林仁和在學習民俗寺廟彩繪中，受過彩繪大師潘麗水老師及蔡草如老師指點，學習到傳統彩繪中人物造型技藝、花鳥技藝。並與泥塑剪黏大師江清露老師合作過大型寺廟泥塑壁堵，從中學習的古典泥塑配法、配色技術。林仁和與其他老師傅擔憂寺廟彩繪這項台灣特有的文化資產恐後繼無人，他呼籲教育部門應積極從藝術科班尋找優秀學生，與民間彩繪師合作，培養下一世紀的寺廟彩繪人才。