Yearning and Chasing, Finding Peace in Years? focuses on a portrait, capturing the essence of youth with delicate brushstrokes. In the painting, the tied - up ponytail and loose strands by the ear are concrete symbols of youth. The color gradients in the hair (interweaving of golden brown and gray - blue) simulate the flow of light and shadow on the hair, infusing dynamic vividness into the static portrait. The layered colors on the face (blending of pink - purple and warm brown) precisely capture the texture of the skin and changes in light and shadow. The detail of the slightly parted lips conveys a subtle emotional tension.
In terms of composition, the figure occupies the core of the painting. The light - colored blending in the background acts like a hazy atmosphere filter. The abstract form on the right (resembling feathers or ribbons) is the external extension of emotions, breaking the closed nature of portrait painting and creating a spiritual connection between the figure and the environment. This layout, while focusing on the figure, reserves breathing space for emotional expression, making the portrait not just about “likeness” but also about the integration of “spirit” and “atmosphere”.
Color is a thermometer of emotions: The dominant warm brown and pink - purple tones, like the soft afternoon sun, convey the warmth of youth. The accents of gray - blue and light purple, like the coolness of a gentle breeze, balance the richness of warm tones, creating a visual experience of “transparency within warmth”. The handling of paint thickness (thin application on the face for delicacy, thick application on the hair for three - dimensionality) enhances the layers and textures of colors, making each stroke of paint a carrier of emotion.
The painting style belongs to expressive realism. It retains the capture of realistic figure features while using subjective color handling and free brushstrokes to convey inner emotions. The brushstrokes on the face are delicate yet not rigid, and those on the hair are bold yet not messy. It blends the “form” of realism with the “spirit” of expression, turning the portrait into a container of youthful emotions.
Emotions hide in colors and brushstrokes: Warm tones represent the enthusiasm of yearning, transparent colors signify the tranquility of years, and the flowing hair and slightly parted lips convey “the throbbing of youth and the longing for stability” — In the dynamics of “yearning and chasing”, there is a desire for the tranquility of “finding peace in years”. This contradictory yet harmonious emotion naturally emerges in the collision of colors and interweaving of brushstrokes.
It evokes Lucian Freud’s deep exploration of the human spirit, yet this painting has more youthful lightness. It also resembles Pierre Bonnard’s poetic creation of colors but focuses more on the emotional transmission of portraits. Using specific details of the hair and layered colors on the face, it transforms the complex emotions of youth into a touchable visual warmth, telling viewers: The charm of portrait painting lies in capturing emotional slices of a moment — When colors become annotations of emotions and brushstrokes turn into traces of youth, the passion of “yearning and chasing” and the longing for “finding peace in years” are eternally frozen on the canvas, becoming vivid footnotes of time. Every gaze allows one to feel the warmth of youth and the longing for life.
