這是早期剛到香港時畫的一幅外銷畫。 剛從內地到香港時，身無分文，必需馬上投入工作。 倒是好，香港在七十年代發展起一種外銷油畫的新行業，大陸初到香港的畫家、美院畢業生接觸到的第一種工作幾乎就是這種「外銷畫」。 這種畫其實細分畫照片人像、臨摹歐洲古典油畫（印刷品）或是一個樣版大量複製的油畫。 前種單價當然高些，但費工費時，尤其對於初次接觸的人實在是一大考驗！ 僅憑一張印刷品，要將它放大到十多倍並畫成油畫。 很多人無法達到品質要求，只好去畫量產的「行貨」。
This is one of first paintings I did after moving to Hong Kong from Mainland China in 1980. With nothing more than the clothes on my back when I moved to Hong Kong, I had to find a job right away. Fortunately, the trade in export oil paintings had emerged in Hong Kong during the 1970s. For nearly all painters and fine arts college graduates from China, this type of "export painting" became their first job in Hong Kong. Export paintings were further broken down into photo portraits, reproductions of European classical oil paintings (from prints), and mass-produced replicas of oil paintings. The former naturally commanded a higher unit price but took time and effort. To magnify a single print more than ten times in size and turn it into an oil painting was a tremendous challenge to those without any previous experience. Many people couldn't meet the quality requirements and so had no choice but to paint mass-produced "standard goods" instead.
這幅畫畫名是叫COQUETRY賣弄風情之意吧，畫工精緻、人物生動，也不知是歐洲哪位大師之作？ 我用幻燈投影機放大輪廓，足不出戶地畫了一個星期。
This painting is called Coquetry, meaning to act in a flirtatious manner. The intricate brushwork and lifelike character were surely the work of some great European master. I used a projector to magnify the outlines then painted away at home for a whole week.
這一段的工作對我的繪畫藝術也有正面的意義，主要是對油畫肖像的描繪細節更留意。 這些磨練讓我在以後的寫生肖像中能更快地建立起了刻劃各種人物的能力和自信，但是，我也提醒自己，不要落入庸俗的「照片真實」之中。
This period did have a positive effect on my painting career because I paid more attention to the details in oil portraits. The experience gave me the skill and confidence to quickly depict all kinds of characters in live portraits later on. I did, however, remind myself not to fall into the trap of mundane photo-realism.
這種生命經歷既無可避免亦不可重來，善用經歷並將其化為自身的智慧才能把可能是愁苦的境況轉換成快樂之事。
Such experiences in life are unavoidable, nor can they be repeated. But if you turn that experience into your own skills and wisdom then you can find happiness in even the most depressing of circumstances.
master of realism 在 The Master of Realism Shakeel Siddiqui - YouTube 的必吃
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