Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Wen-yen (邱文彥), a specialist in environmental protection and marine education, has used his artistic talent and affection for landscape observation to paint the places he has visited throughout his life.
Unlike other artists, who might prefer to encapsulate fragments of their journeys in photographs, Chiu chose to preserve his memories with paper and a ballpoint pen.
From Big Ben in London to the old houses in the community of Siangsihliao (相思寮), Changhua County, which has received media attention because of land seizures for development of the Central Taiwan Science Park’s expansion project, Chiu has transcribed his memories into illustrations.
Photo: Yen Ruo-Jing, Taipei Times
A graduate of the department of urban planning at National Cheng Kung University, Chiu said his interest in architecture, space and landscape was fostered during college, where he also learned the essential skills for painting.
During his university years, Chiu joined a student art group by accident, but soon found delight in painting and cultivated his talent for ink washes.
Chiu was crowned champion in his first attempt in an ink wash painting contest in the south. From then on, painting became a passion.
However, Chiu’s years abroad and his business travel made it difficult for him to paint, so he replaced his paintbrush with a ballpoint pen.
“The ballpoint pen is the most convenient tool because now I can draw whenever, or wherever, I want,” Chiu said.
He said he found enjoyment in drawing every detail of the landscapes before him and he used his pen to document each journey on which he embarked.
Over the decades, Chiu has compiled several books of illustrations to pass his memories on to his son, he said.
Despite using a ballpoint pen, his work managed to replicate ink washes in a vivid manner.
Chiu is also fond of leaving his work “partially blank” to give room for imagination.
He also uses this technique in blueprints for urban planning.
Aside from economic development, Chiu said Taiwan should find ways to coexist with nature.
“Wetlands and the endangered Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, for example, are treasured assets in Taiwan,” Chiu said, adding that people should learn how to balance urban development with environmental preservation.
As a lawmaker, Chiu said he would adhere to his principles, even if they cost him his job, and pledged to preserve the nation’s wetlands for future generations.
Translated by Stacy Hsu, staff writer
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