Dechen, female Tibetan artist nearest to sun

11:14, November 17, 2009  

Dechen, a female Tibetan painter, owes her artistic accomplishments to her hometown of Tibet, which is deemed as the "heaven for creation" by many artists.

Photo shows Dechen, a female Tibetan painter. (Photo: tibet.cn)


Photo shows a painting titled Pray by Dechen.(Photo: tibet.cn)

One can be aware of distinctive ethnic characteristics and the pursuit of simplicity in her paintings, many of which have been collected by famous foreign museums.

The introverted and simple Tibetan woman has delicate inner feelings and strong social responsibility, which find expression in her paintings.

Dechen is free on her painting topics and she can draw everything that comes to her mind. As a woman, she has drawn a lot of paintings on female topics, and is working on a series named "half the sky" by collecting different and distinctive female characters together.

Before the 33-year-old painter attended two exhibitions of Chinese paintings on China's Tibet held in late October in Rome and Milan, she had held an individual painting exhibition in Britain.

Dechen said that she was deeply fascinated by the bright colors of frescos in Tibet's monasteries when she was studying in the Art School of Tibet University.

After graduation, she had made copies of frescos for two years before she started drawing paintings on her own.

When she went to pastoral areas for artistic inspiration, she was deeply moved by the optimistic, generous and outgoing nature of Tibetan women busy working hard in the farmland.

Then she began to use simple lines and bright colors to present the scenes of Tibetan people's life, and has kept to such a paining style.

Her works have been well received by the Italian audience. She said that every time she attended an exhibition, she felt nervous yet relaxed.

She felt nervous because she had to explain her paintings in the presence of many people; and she felt relaxed because she could appreciate the paintings by world-famous masters.

Speaking of foreign artists' works, Dechen said, "Although every time I appreciate their works as a admirer, I prefer the traditional painting and life styles of my own ethnic group.

My hometown of Tibet has rich ethnic cultural deposits and unparalleled natural scenery. Is there anything else that gives me a reason for not adhering to my painting style?"

Source:China Tibet Information Center