古来绘事，滥觞递变之际，多有后继者摹临，以事法前人，或期积学储宝、厚积薄发。然泥古不化者甚众，能自出一格者寥寥。明代大画家陈洪绶诚然是后世顶礼膜拜的一代宗师，其画风自然疏旷、苍老古拙。尤其人物画线条清圆细劲、散逸润洁，力追古法，乃为楷模。远及扬州八怪之罗聘，晚年专师老莲。晚清三任远播老莲的影响，延及当代新文人画追随者有之。读筱芳临老莲《西园雅集图》卷，古风宛然，而清气十足。谋篇布局袭用旧制，人物意态仿佛，闲适自然。士彦清谈、作画，好不畅快；少妇侧立顾盼，温婉可人。堪足《陶庵梦遗》里陈洪绶、张岱等文人墨客宴饮畅游的情景。也令人想起老莲《斜倚熏笼图》描摹的上流社会的写照。老莲用笔刚中带柔，出神入化。人物造型奇崛怪诞。而筱芳的人物线条则圆润绵和，得“春蚕吐丝描”之韵，更趋温软，加之水墨写意的晕染烘托，少有临摹的生涩刻板，多一份华滋绵厚的气息。在周遭环境的表现上，筱芳跳脱临摹制式，笔墨并举，且将当代装饰性趣味融于纸面，树木扶苏，晕染有致，似“隔帘花叶有辉光”之感。整体而言，虽是临习之作，古画的旷世放达融入今人的把玩意趣，恍如隔世而又盘桓其中，可见筱芳将临习升华为创作是下了一番功夫的。《乐园图》《红楼梦十二金钗.》和《后院雅集图》都可看作潜心而为的创新之作。读他的古仕题材的作品，时会生出“暗水流花径，春星带草堂”的境像，也会揣摩“娉婷少妇未关愁，清夜琵琶上小楼。裂帛一声江月白，碧云飞起四山秋。”的意趣来。何以筱芳的案头手卷、册页之类的逸品能一脱窠臼，既不失传统神韵，又别开生面、自创新格。窃以为，一则是画家好读诗书，诗词骈赋、杂剧小令，长读于晨夕；志怪故事、正传稗史，稔熟于脑际。识得“功夫在诗外”之奥援，当可资用。再则，沿波讨源，中华书画文脉发端滥觞博大精深，卧游历代，问教于大家，转益多师，汲取笔墨精髓，反求诸己。其三，画家立足当代，深谙石涛所语“笔墨当随时代”。所谓当代语境，“全球同此凉热”。当代水墨，盛极一时，筱芳曾任出版社美编经年，现代设计、当代艺术多有涉猎。在其主题创作作品里，更多结合先锋前卫理念，是为佐证。由此，其临习古画，不墨守成规，迭有新意，遂令观者兴味盎然。藏掖把玩，岂不快哉。言及筱芳多种主题创作，《祥云》《记忆》《空间系列》等等，林林总总，不可胜数，也颇多获奖。余浸淫故旧字画历数年，前卫先锋之作，不敢妄自揣测。然筱芳君勤研传统，新旧相济，自标一格，环顾中生代画家，能出其右者无多矣。

　　From generation to generation, painters often copy molds of paintings during the changeable years in order to, perhaps, be well versed in some pictures as to be able to paint any one of them with ease. Many painters, however, are stick fast to form；only the few are able to have his (or her)own style in painting. Chen Hongshou, the great painter in Ming dynasty, was a master for his time, being worshiped by descendants. His style is natural and spacious as well as vigorous and unsophisticated. The lines of his figure paintings are especially fluent and forceful, elegant and smooth，being a model of later generations. Luo Pin, one of Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, took Laolian as his model in his old age. Laolian exerted a significant influence on painters during three reigns of late Qing dynasty and also on modern painters. Not long ago, I read scroll of “Noble sentiments in Xiyuan gadern” which Ding Xiaofang copied by Laolian, that is full of old and crisp customs. The general appearance of the picture keeps the traditional style and figures look as if very ease and carefree. Artists in the picture are talking and painting cheerfully while lovely young women standing aside. They are the much same as scholars Chen Hongshou, Zhang Dai, etc. in the picture “A dream in Tao nunnery”; and the picture also set us thinking of people in upper class who were painted by Laolian in his “Leaning on bamboo net”. Laolian tempered toughness with gentleness in his style of painting and made pictures with superb brushwork; figures in his pictures are fantastic. Xiaofang paints smooth and mild lines of figures, and is aware of “trace of spring silkworms spin silk”, being rare in copying others mechanically but more soft and gentle. In drawing environment around, Xiaofang uses brushwork with ink instead of copying others blindly; he displays certain characteristics of ornament: flowers and tress are luxuriant but well spaced, seeming to be “bright after the curtain”. As a whole, Xiaofang practices hard in rising of copy to a creative level, mixing characteristics of both traditional broad-mind and modern taste, seeming as if in the past years while in the present times. “Picture of joyful garden”, “Twelve Golden Hairpins in Red Mansions” and “Picture of delightful flavor in backyard” can be regarded as creative works after studying traditional paintings. Reading his pictures on ancient beauties, you will think of “water flowing in flower path, and weeds surrounding thatched abode”, and also try to figure out the taste of “a graceful woman knowing unworried, going up mansion at night with a pipa; she playing the pipa under the autumn moon while clouds drifting around mountains.” Why could Xiaofang’s paintings cast off the old convention, keeping traditional tastes as well as creating the new style? In my opinion, the painter, first after all, is fond of poems, rhyme prose and zaju (poetic drama), reading them always in the morning and evening; and likes to read sagas and books of history, knowing them very well in his mind. “The real skill goes beyond its range”, we know. Secondly, Xiaofang researches and traces the history of Chinese paintings carefully, learns from many masters, derives the essence from traditional art of China, and   enriches himself. Thirdly, he believes strongly what Shi Tao said: “Paintings should keep abreast of the times”. The modern times mean that “It is the same over the whole world”. Once as the art editor in publishing house for several years, Xiaofang has read books of modern design and modern art. It is the proof that most of his theme paintings are combined with modern ideas. It is our honor to read Xiaofang’s paintings with new ideas and styles; we are very keen on them. Mr. Xiaofang, copying and studying ancient paintings, and mixing new style with the old one, has formed the unique style of his own. Few of middle-aged painters have ever done better than he in this field.