Bluebird's Back in the Morning Sun 晨曦中蓝色知更鸟的后背

 The sky was cobalt blue and as clear as the air I inhaled that morning as I explored the early autumn cornfields. My boots sunk low in the red Alabama dirt as I tried to get a better view of the bluebird on a barbed-wire fence. With colors and paper in hand, I slowly moved in closer to get a better feel of just what kind of blue I could mix together to imitate what I was seeing. Even though having 64 crayons was a dream come true for a 5 year old, I just didn't seem to have enough blues to show the brilliance of the bluebird's back in the morning sun. I suppose that's when I began to think of myself as an explorer, observer, interpreter and somewhat of a creator in some sort of imitative sense, an artist. 天空湛蓝湛蓝的，清澈如晰。那天早上，我一边吸着清晨的空气一边钻进早秋的玉米地里。当我试图更好地观察站在铁丝栅栏上的蓝色知更鸟时，我的靴子却深深地陷入阿拉巴马那红色的泥土中。我手中攥着颜料和纸，轻轻地向前移动，努力想像着究竟怎么调和才可以跟我眼前看到的蓝色最接近。尽管对于当年那个五岁的孩子来说，拥有64支蜡笔的梦想已经实现，但是我现在却觉得没有足够多的蓝色来描绘晨曦中蓝色知更鸟背部的光彩。我想，就是在那个时候我开始把自己当作一个探险家、观察家、翻译家，或者从某种意义上讲有一点像一个创造家、艺术家。 Art imitates Life, they say. Yes, but what is Life? I heard a line from a song, "I want to be a living man, a living man, I just want to be a living man". It was the background music for a film about the last few seconds of a man's life. There he was with a noose around his neck, his eyes closed in prayer and then everything was paused as he "started living". He heard the mocking bird, the cricket, the wind in the leaves. He could see the sun coming through the branches as the trees swayed back and forth. He could feel the water as he swam down the rapids and then he came up out of the water and breathed deep fresh air as if he was just born. He saw flowers like it was the first time and struggled to get close enough to breathe in their fragrance. 人们说，艺术是生活的写照。是的，但生活又是什么呢？在一首歌里我听到这么一句：“我想活着，想活着，我只想活着。”这是一部电影的背景音乐。伴随着音乐，电影中垂死的人剩下人生中最后的几秒钟。他的脖子上绕着套索，他的眼睛在祷告中合上。那一瞬万物止息，他也“开始了新生”。他听到了嘲鸟的鸣叫、蟋蟀的歌唱和吹过树梢的风声。树枝摇曳，从枝杈间他可以看到太阳。在潜入激流的那一刻他能够感觉到水真实地存在，接着他游出水面，深深的吸了一口新鲜的空气，感觉像是新生一样。他也看到了花，仿佛是第一次见到花，他努力地向前靠近，沉浸在花儿的芬芳中。 As an artist, I want to be a living man, to really see what God has created and enjoy it. I don't want to just see and enjoy or even to see, enjoy and imitate. I want to breath deeper. I want to know in a fresh new way, the One who created all. I guess that's a bit of an uppity goal, but I don't think that's putting the capital "A" on the artist, since that is what Jesus taught us all to do, I mean to know God, to love God and enjoying Him forever. 作为一名艺术家，我想成为有生命力的人，去用心欣赏、享受上帝所创造的一切。而不是仅仅走马观花或者看一下就模仿。我想体会得更深一些，也想以一种全新的方式来认识这位造物主。或许这听上去有点儿好高务远，可是这并不代表艺术高于一切。因为这是耶稣赐下的诫命，他要我们永远追求认识神、爱神并享受神。 I don't feel any need to settle down with a particular style, method or plan of doing art, so I'm open minded in my approach. For decades I've studied mostly art from America and Europe, now while living in China I am feeling an Asian influence in my work. Realism, Impressionism, Abstract, etc., I see it all as colors, shapes, textures and ideas that have their foundation in His creation. I would like to make some sort of art that hasn't been thought of before, something really new, something with meaning, something my children's children would appreciate. Are all the good ideas already taken? I don't think so. R.G. Phillips, March 30, 2007 对于艺术，我觉得不必拘泥于一种特定的风格、技巧或是方案，所以我自己的创作也不拘一格。几十年以来，我主要学习美国和欧洲的艺术。现在我住在中国，正感觉到亚洲艺术的风格渗透到我的作品中。不管是现实主义、印象派、抽象派还是其他什么派别，我所能看到的都是植根于神所创造的颜色、形状、构造和思想。我想创造出一种前所未有的艺术，一种真正崭新的、有意义的、我的子子孙孙会欣赏的东西。但这些好主意被付诸实践了吗？我不这么认为。

”Wind of Change, Light of Life” watercolor on paper

R. G. Phillips, Artist Robert Gregory Phillips was born in 1955 in Alabama, USA. He received his B.S. in Painting from Troy State University in Alabama. His work is owned by private collectors and galleries in the United States and internationally. Other interests include: Software Engineering, Poetry, Bible, Photography, Film, History, Discovery, New Technology. Currently (2007) he is painting and teaching in China. His wife Susan and he have three children and one grandchild.Robert Gregory Phillips 1955年生于美国亚拉巴马州。在亚拉巴马特洛伊州立大学获得艺术学位。他的作品被美国及世界其他国家的收藏家和画廊收藏。其它爱好有：软件工程，诗歌，圣经，摄影，电影，历史，勘察，新科技。2007年他在中国绘画、教学。他和太太Susan有三个子女，还有一个孙子。

There is a road from the eye to the heart that does not go through the intellect. G.K. Chesterton