大地，悠远苍劲；残雪斑驳，纵横阡陌，巨幅画面中的景象，如帘似网地奏出细密的和声。在苍穹与广袤的地表上，人类如沙尘般的渺小，人与自然如何休戚相生？来自天际的声声叩问，震撼着人们的心灵。或许只有艺术家才能读懂这大地的表情，听得见这天际的声音……。不论是东方还是西方，对大地的描绘一直是画家不朽的命题，而这一题材的表现几乎鲜有触及宏观、理性的层面。田卫平站在宇宙的立场，客观地审视地球、自然、人类的相互关系。“天人合一”的思想古往有之，而田卫平对这一思想如此宏大视野、独特视角的绘画表达却是全新的。在真实与虚幻的包裹中，艺术家引领观者走入生命有涯，时空无限的哲思--人类无论怎样强调自身的价值，都要以对自然的客观认知为基础，进而通向“天地与我共生，万物与我为一”的境界。田卫平以全新的视角审视着大地，他看到了地表之上磅礴生机的勃发，看到了地表之下万年历史的沉积。看到了地壳运动的遗迹，曾经的沧海、现在的桑田。他看到了大地的季节、大地的枯荣……

　　视角的时代印记

　　艺术创作来自心灵的呼唤。很多次，在飞机上，田卫平高空俯瞰，随着经度、纬度及高度的变化，大地演绎着色彩的交响，线条的变奏，一点一滴，创作的灵动在艺术家心中盘升。终于，Google Earth为田卫平提供了翱翔天空的翅膀和俯瞰大地的鹰眼。卫星遥感技术之下，人类赖以生存的地表呈现出常人罕见的奇异景观，俯瞰之下的山川、田野本身的秩序、形式具有一种神圣的美感，艺术家在苍茫大地上寻觅令人心动的风景……。选择题材进行系列创作，一直让很多艺术家在彷徨、思索中前行。美无处不在，唯有具备深厚修养和审美洞察力的艺术家才能持有独特的视角。田卫平自言是幸运的，现代的科技提供给人类一个全新的视角，也正是缘于这只有20世纪才诞生的视角，作品才有了更为突出的时代烙印。审美取向的选择无疑是艺术家修养的再现，田卫平用Google Earth在地球上淘景，如沙中淘金，淘景的过程俨然已成为艺术家创作过程的一部分。此时，艺术创作已经开始……

　　语汇的精酌提炼

　　从西方绘画发现了东方的浮世绘之后，西方绘画趋向“平面”开始，形式美的个性化表现便被很多画家作为自己的语言，当下“平面性”更是现代绘画的本质特征。看田卫平各个时期的艺术创作，表现题材、创作视角有所不同，但“平面感”“形式感”与随之而产生的“现代感”，一直是其作品所遵循和传导的艺术精神。田卫平的获奖油画作品《月光雪地》、《欧洲的表情系列》既是一个左证。一幅作品从题材上或许看不出新意，但强烈的平面语言、形式语汇可以形成非常个性化的阐述，“形式”是艺术家自身风格确立的催生剂。当田卫平第一次看到自然在高科技的呈现下显现的美感，就已被震撼了，确切地说是被超常视野下的游离于自然景象之外的的形式美感震撼了。如果说抽象和写实是创作手法的两极，那么两极之间的广阔空间便是田卫平绘画创作的空间。在他看来，抽象是心象的再现，难免会与观者产生一定的距离，缺乏亲和力；写实是客观的再现，艺术家的创造力会受到禁锢。田卫平的“地表系列”在抽象与写实之间找到了契合点，在似与不似之间巧妙游移，既很写实也很抽象。田卫平运用独特视角，成功地将大地的题材价值放大，并运用崭新的绘画语言及表现形式巧妙地与所表现的内容契合。

　　地表系列中，大地已被抽象化，山峦、河流、道路、森林、湖泊、沙漠在特殊的视角下成了构成画面的点、线、面元素，而这些元素不是抽象的图形，它们是自然的存在。画面上树木、房屋、草垛抽象成或单独或成组的“点”，河流、道路抽象成或曲或直的“线”，而农田、牧场也抽象成或有机形或无机形的“面”。点、线、面组合千变万化，生成一幅幅构图迥异、形式感极强的画面。每幅画面的色调都具有统摄性的整体感，不同的明度阶梯、彩度阶梯随着块面的变化，产生色彩的变奏，使得形式美感更为强化。一直以来，在田卫平的绘画创作中，很难找到强烈的色彩。艺术家一直玩味于变化微妙的色彩之中。这些色彩或沉淀在沙砾的底部，若隐若现，或浮刮于堆积的肌理表面，渗透出朴素苍涩的材料质感，而这种沉稳的色彩强调了自然和历史的力量。画面上每一个笔触都是对自然的写实，同时每一个笔触又都是现代绘画语境下独立的抽象符号，具有独立的审美价值。对作品的审美过程正是在这样有形与无形间的游移与审视中完成。

　　艺术家将传统的自然主题放置在“形式”美的审视中，展示宇宙自身运行的强大的秩序与法则，赋予了作品独有的个性化语言。艺术家的陈述内敛平静，但画面包裹着很强的冲击力，强烈的形式美感和强烈的材料美感，为观者呈现了无限的视觉回味。艺术家近乎完美的达到了一种用最恰当的艺术语言表现主题精神的境界，最终呈现了自然带给人类的震撼，人类对自然的敬畏……

　　绘画的触觉思考

　　虽然人们自古以来对绘画的表面肌理就有一定的认识，但把触觉作为造型要素提出并加以评论却是上世纪的事。自从马里内蒂（Marinetti Filippo 1876-1944）发表触觉主义宣言之后，材料、肌理作为艺术本身被人们广泛地探索着，它对绘画表层状态的影响是深刻的。

　　田卫平的绘画表层状态是很独特的，他在以“形式”刺激观者的视觉神经的同时，又以“材质”刺激观者的触觉神经，使观者有很强的触摸欲望。观者在欣赏作品的过程中得到了形式美和材质美的双重审美享受。地表系列中材料、肌理等绘画语言运用的独到之处，在于材料、肌理与自然主题的完美结合。层层沙砾有的潜伏于色彩之下，有的形成整块的凸显，有的则被梳理，形成纹络，有粗糙皱褶，有通透灵动，历史的变迁犹如刀刻斧凿一般在画面的地表上烙下层层印记。在恰当地表现内容的同时材料、肌理本身独立的美学价值也确立了。在这样的触觉思考之下，观者进入了真实与虚构的双重空间，真实的画表之下是虚幻的地表。

　　田卫平的“地表系列”开创了新时代风景油画的新样式。

　　The land, distant and vigorous; covered by remnant and mottled snow, intersecting and overlapped as curtain or net, composes a magnificent picture and plays the fine melody. Human beings, as trivial as the sand, beneath the vault of heaven, how can they go through twists and turns on the expansive land? The call from the heaven echoes, beating the soul of human beings. It is perhaps only artist who can comprehend the complexion of the land, the sound in the great distance.

　　Whether in the east or the west, the artists share the same eternal topic of land; however it is seldom sculpted from the view of macrography or the rational. From the point of the universe, Tian Weiping reads the relationship among the earth, the nature and the human beings objectively. The unity of the men and nature can be traced back to the ancient, but it is a brand-new aspect that Tian Weiping chooses to express it in such an immense and unique way.

　　Between the virtual and real, the artists guide the audience to understand the mortal life and the immortal universal principle which means all should be based on the cognition of the nature however the human beings speak highly of their own values so that they can approach the world—“the integrity of man and universe, the unity of man and all living things”

　　Taking the brand new view to read the land, Tian Weiping catches the sight of the vitality of the surface, the deposits beneath the earth after millions of years, the traces of the movement of plates, the departed sea, the present field, the alternate seasons and the transformation of the land…

　　Traces of time

　　The artists create by inspirations. More than once, with the lines changing, Tian Weiping overlooks the land from the airplane, as the changing of longitude, latitude and height accordingly, the land plays the symphony of rich colors, upon which the inspiration deep in the heart grows stronger and stronger. Finally, Google Earth offers Tian Weiping the best solution to soar up to the sky and overview the land beneath as sharp as eagle. With the help of remote control of satellite, the reliable earth appears to be spectacular landscape which is unknown before. The mountains in bird’s-eye view, the orderly fields constitute such a holy structure that the artists are seeking to depict such touching pictures…Hesitating and pondering, many artists are in the process of choosing to create a series of certain topics. Beauty is ubiquity but it is only such artists who have profound knowledge and a keen insight into aesthetics that can discover it from a unique perspective. Tian thinks himself fortunate for modern technology provides human beings a brand new aspect, newly born in the twentieth century, which can be seen in works. It is evident that the selection for the appreciation of aesthetic can show the mastery of the artists. Tian Weiping tries to apply Google Earth to the selection; the process of application, as same as seeking gold from the sand, has become part of the creation for the artists. At that time, the creative work has already started…

　　Refinement For the Diction

　　Since the influence discovery of Eastern Fushihui, the western painting tends to be “two dimensions” which is called “the style of plane” as the true nature of painting nowadays and adopted by more and more artists as their own way of expression, which is the stylistic display of form and structure. The works, topics and the aspects of Tian Weiping seem to be different in each phase, but in terms of the artistic essence, the similarity always lie in “the style of plane”, “the style of form” and“the style of modern”in sequence . His awarded paintings as “Moonlight Snow”, “Series of European Expression” are the best examples. The innovation of the works may not be discovered from its topic, but its extremely individual manifestation can be shown by the use of plane style and form. For the artists, “form” is an incentive for the establishment of the style. Tian Weiping was shocked when he first caught the sight of nature reflected by modern science and technology. Definitely speaking, he was touched by the beauty of form out of nature through special aspect. If the two extremes of creation are the abstract and the reality respectively, then Tianˊs lies between the two. In his opinion, the abstract is the reflection of the mind, which can explain the distance or the kinship it brings to the readers. And the reality presents the objectivity; therefore it limits the creativity of artists. “The Earth Surface” by Tian Weiping finds its very position between the abstract and the reality, between its so called “seem to be” and “not seem to be”. Actually it is both abstract and realistic. Tian Weiping employs one special aspect to magnify the value of the land successfully. Furthermore, the brand new painting approach and the joint of the content contribute to the success.

　　In “The Earth's Surface”, the land is made abstract, as mountains, rivers, roads, forests, lakes and desert are transformed into factors like point, lines and sides from some particular aspect. And these factors are not abstract shapes but the natural existence.

　　In the picture, trees, houses and piles of hay are made abstract as “points” either independent or in sequence; rivers, roads are made abstract as “lines” either twisted or straight; field, pasture are also made as “sides” either regular ones or irregular ones. Point, line and side coincide and change together, which compose corresponding picture, with great difference and unique style. It can be seen that the colors in every picture hold its totality. With the rising or falling of the hierarchy of light and colors, the changes of colors come into being and strengthen the beauty of form. For quite a long time, the strong colors can seldom be found in Tian Weiping’s works. He is always absorbed into the subtle change of colors. Those colors can be seen either at the bottom of the sand, sometimes bulging sometimes not, or on the surface of the land, which shows the simplicity of the material. Such profound colors enhance the power of nature and history. Each sculpture depicts the natural world; meanwhile it is an abstract symbol of modern painting with separate aesthetic values. The appreciation of the work is a process bewildering between the abstract and reality.

　　The artists put the traditional topic---nature into the aesthetic, advocating form, show the innate order and principle of the universe and therefore endow their works the individuality. The works by the artists are peaceful and implicit but they are still intense. The beauty of structure and fine material make the appreciation further, stronger and deeper. Artists succeed in employing the best access to display the essence of beauty so that a kind of rock of the nature toward human being and the awesome of human beings to natural world occur to mind…

　　The Meditation of Tactile Sense for Painting

　　Although since long before people has been familiar with the surface of the land, it is until last century that tactile sense was advocated and discussed as rules of painting. Since Marinetti Filippo (1876—1944) published “The Declaration of Tactile Sense”, people began to study the material and the texture from the view of art which brings deep and further influence on the surface of painting.

　　The surface of painting by Tian Weiping is peculiar. He both employs “structure” –incentive to visual sense and “material” –incentive to tactile sense in order to arouse audiences’ strong desire for touching. The audience can experience the beauty of structure and material in the process of appreciation. The special use of structure and material in series of earth painting lies in its perfect combination with the nature. Layers of sand either hide under the protection of colors or organize as raised pieces, with lines sometimes bulging sometimes energetic, which leave the traces on the land as if the depiction of history is carved and painted as forever memory. The value of aesthetics in terms of material and texture is established in the proper selection of topics. With the tactile sense, the audiences step into a dual space—real and virtual, that is, under the surface of the land is imaginary.

　　The series of “The Earth Surface” by Tian Weiping initiate a new genre of oil painting of a new era.