冉茂芹，《舊工棚》：台灣‧南投‧水里
33.5×45.5cm，1999

離開埔里後我們三幾輛車往水里方向駛去，我是糊裡糊塗，地點方向一些也沒概念，我唯一的工作是盯住沿途看景緻，一遇有畫頭的即刻叫停。

在這廢棄的工棚處下車看看，果然不錯，蠻有畫味，那一橫一豎的木板廠房，荒落的小院中斜伸著一棵多姿的鳳凰花樹，細碎的樹葉撒落在板棚上和小院的泥土上，還不時神經質地在抖落。沒有半個人影，真正的人去樓空！只有偶爾經過的飛鳥嘠的一兩聲，好像是驚奇竟有人為此荒涼的舊樓留影。

其實，這處景物雖然美感特殊，但難度極大！尤其是板棚前面還有樹木，要畫樹幹樹枝樹葉還要樹葉婆娑！這一切都要在現場三小時完成！
殘破的景物常引起人們的傷感，或許，這應該不只是我的“強說愁”吧？

YIM Mau-Kun, Old Shed, Nantou, Taiwan
33.5×45.5cm，1999

After leaving Puli, several cars of us headed toward Shuili. I was rather muddle-headed, with no real sense of the route or direction. My only task was to keep my eyes on the scenery along the way, and the moment I spotted something paint-worthy, I would call for a stop.

We got out at this abandoned work shed to take a look, and sure enough, it was promising—full of pictorial charm. The wooden factory building, with its horizontal and vertical planks, stood in a desolate little courtyard where a graceful flame tree stretched diagonally upward. Fine leaves were scattered over the plank roof and the earthen ground of the yard, occasionally quivering and falling as if nervously shedding themselves. There was not a single person in sight—truly a place abandoned and emptied of life. Only the occasional passing bird cried out once or twice, as if surprised that someone would pause to capture images of such a desolate old building.

In fact, although this scene possessed a distinctive beauty, it was extremely challenging to paint. Especially with trees standing in front of the shed—the trunks, branches, and leaves all had to be depicted, including the fluttering foliage. And all of this had to be completed on site within three hours.

Ruined scenes often stir a sense of melancholy. Perhaps this is not merely my own tendency to “force sorrow” where it need not be.