若說荷塘是引我入境的一片清涼，葫蘆便是自此生發的圓滿頌歌。

這圓潤的果實，從七千年前的河姆渡緩緩而來，在《詩經》裡喚作“壺”，於道家掌上成器，在百姓簷下懸作日常。福祿、萬代、乾坤、仙境——小小葫蘆，竟能容下如此豐饒的東方意象。

而我，願以油彩譯寫它。

用筆觸的層染模擬水墨的滲透，以色彩的沉澱呼應留白的呼吸，更以線的流轉、面的鋪陳與點的跳動，勾勒藤蔓舒展的生命韻律。於是， “玉壺藏乾坤”裡暈染出溫潤如脂的日月， “壺天仙境”中浮游著飄逸如煙的雲霞， “金秋葫蘆色”則以暖金與鮮綠交融，鋪展出一片人間煙火的豐盈願景。

這段以葫蘆為題的創作旅程，是我與它的漫長對話，也是油畫與傳統在時光中的相互映照，彼此喚醒那共通的、盎然的生機。畫布之上，葫蘆不再只是葫蘆——它是載體，是隱喻，是擺渡於亙古祝福與當下脈動的一葉輕舟。

如今，畫已呈於眼前。願您透過油彩的光澤與肌理，觸到那熟悉而依然動人的東方魂靈；願葫蘆所承載的福祿、安寧與生生不息的美好祝願，也透過畫面，靜靜流淌入您的心間。

筆止於此，而葫中天地，方才為您輕輕敞開。

World Within the Gourd

If the lotus pond was a cool, inviting realm that drew me in, then the gourd is the song of wholeness that grew from it.

This rounded fruit has journeyed slowly from Hemudu of seven thousand years ago, was called "hu" in the Book of Songs, shaped into vessels in Daoist hands, and hung beneath eaves as part of daily life. Blessings, prosperity, eternity, heaven and earth, fairy realms—such a small gourd can hold such abundant Eastern imagery.

And I wish to translate it through oil paint.

Using layered brushstrokes to emulate the seep of ink, allowing the sedimentation of color to echo the breath of blank space, and employing the flow of line, the spread of surface, and the dance of dots to outline the life rhythm of unfurling vines. Thus, within "A Universe within the Jade Vessel", there blurs a warmth smooth as jade, sun and moon; in "The Gourd as a Paradise", drift clouds and mist as ethereal as smoke; while "Golden Autumn Gourd Hues" blend warm golds with fresh greens, unfolding a vision of earthly abundance.

This creative journey with the gourd as its theme is my long dialogue with it, a mutual reflection between oil painting and tradition across time, awakening in each other that shared, lush vitality. Upon the canvas, the gourd is no longer just a gourd—it is a vessel, a metaphor, a gentle boat ferrying between ancient blessings and the pulse of the present.

Now, the paintings are before you. May you, through the sheen and texture of the oil paint, touch that familiar yet ever-moving Eastern spirit; may the blessings, peace, and the beautiful wish for endless life carried by the gourd also flow quietly from the painting into your heart.

The brush stops here, yet the world within the gourd has just softly opened for you.