天然去雕饰 信笔独自由
文 / 林良丰
《芥子园画谱》的问世，有序地系统总结了中国画的传统表现技巧模式，并使之成为一种表现符号。这固然使初涉中国画的入门者有了一种系统的学习方法，然而却也成为日后表现技法的桎梏。继承与创新成为近现代直至当代的一个热门话题，成为众多画家试图突破的一个探索领域。然而，我认为这只是停留在表现形式变革的一种表象，一种形而下的徒劳努力。
看惯了五彩缤纷的表现技艺，看惯了穷其心力的完整画面，画画的本意又是什么？是心性的自然流露和意象的自由驰骋。初看曾锦德先生的画作，你会被那狂乱无序的笔调所颠覆——什么是画？是图解、说教、完美还是性情、状态、自由？我认为这是一种境界，一种形而上的自由境界。
锦德先生清贫地生活在德化山区四十余年，人生的坎坷使得其须发皆白，诸多的磨难更令其对艺术执迷不悔。他与大山为伍，天然自在、朴质无华的自然环境使得他的心性无比的淳厚，他很单纯地生活在山野村居之中，宠辱不惊，全身心地投入到他的艺术创作之中。他很嗜酒，一方面缓解了他的生活压力，另一方面却激发了他的创作欲望，如魏晋之风，清朗而简约。他的画，是一种无拘无束的心性流露和倾诉，展现出一个艺术家的生存状态和艺术表现形态的极度自由。我们在他的画面所感受到的是作为一个纯粹艺术家的感性世界。
锦德先生是科班毕业的，对绘画语言的把握、对传统的探究毋容置疑，然而他却能跳出传统绘画程式的束缚而进入信笔挥洒的自由状态，这是很多人所无法企及的。他从不在乎别人怎样看待他的作品，因为他的心他的笔是自由的。一个艺术家能进入到这种自由的创作状态是很难的，这已经不是一种形式的改变或所谓表现技法的创新，而是融合了诸多传统文化因素并上升到了一定的精神层面，是境界而不是表象。
锦德先生热爱生活，他的画是他对客观世界感知的一个载体：山川氤氲、墨色交融、笔痕灵动、草木有情，全无衰败颓废之象，其画中涌动着盎然的生机和艺术创作过程的自在状态。自由自在，正是我们这个时代许多画家所缺乏的。
外师造化，中得心源，心源流露，是为意象。锦德先生的画无章可循，更无常规法度，看似杂乱、狂野、不羁，却印证了“天然去雕饰，信笔独自由”的艺术真谛。
林良丰（张晓寒美术研究会会长）
2006年3月14日凌晨 · 厦门辛缘书屋
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Natural and Unadorned, Freely Guided by the Brush
The publication of The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting systematically summarized traditional techniques in Chinese painting and transformed them into a set of visual symbols. While this provided beginners with a structured method for learning, it also became a constraint for future technical expression. The tension between inheritance and innovation has been a central topic in modern and contemporary Chinese art, a field many artists strive to explore. Yet I believe this often remains a superficial attempt, a form-bound endeavor that does not touch the essence of creation.
Accustomed to the vibrant array of techniques and the meticulously constructed compositions, one may forget the true purpose of painting: the natural expression of the heart and the free flight of imagination. At first glance, Zeng Jinde’s works may overwhelm viewers with their chaotic, seemingly disorderly brushwork. What is painting? Is it illustration, moral instruction, perfection, or is it temperament, state, and freedom? I consider it a realm, a metaphysical state of artistic freedom.
Mr. Zeng lived a modest life in the mountains of Dehua for over forty years. Life’s hardships turned his hair white, yet they also fueled his unwavering devotion to art. Accompanied by the mountains, immersed in the simplicity of nature, his character became pure and unaffected. Living quietly in rural seclusion, he remained unperturbed by honor or disgrace, dedicating himself wholly to his artistic practice. His fondness for wine both eased life’s pressures and stimulated creative desire, reminiscent of the Wei-Jin aesthetic: clear, minimal, and free. His paintings are an unrestrained outpouring of his inner temperament, revealing an artist’s existential state and extreme freedom in artistic expression. In his works, we sense the emotional world of a truly pure artist.
A formally trained artist, Zeng Jinde mastered painting language and deeply explored tradition, yet he broke free from conventional constraints to achieve a state of spontaneous, free brushwork—an achievement few can reach. He cared little for external judgment; his mind and brush were liberated. Reaching this state is extraordinarily difficult, transcending formal changes or technical innovations. It represents the integration of traditional cultural elements elevated to a spiritual plane—a realm rather than a mere surface phenomenon.
Zeng Jinde loved life. His paintings embody his perception of the world: misty mountains, interwoven ink tones, lively brushstrokes, and sentient flora, with no trace of decay or decline. They exude vitality and reflect the artist’s ease in creation. Freedom—this quality—is precisely what many contemporary artists lack.
Learning from nature while channeling the mind, the source of the heart emerges in imagery. Zeng Jinde’s works follow no prescribed rules or conventions; they appear chaotic, wild, and untamed, yet they embody the artistic truth of being “natural and unadorned, freely guided by the brush.”