In Huang Bore’s opinion, “To master the art of painting, one must start with modeling the ancients and in turn Nature. Once the myriad forms of the natural world are familiarized, the spirit can easily be captured in painting. It is only then that one can be capable of lively creation.” These words can perhaps sum up his own learning path of first copying traditional masterpieces and finally modeling on Nature.

Huang Bore’s idea of sketching from life is not confined by the pursuit for objective reproduction as in the West. “If the aim of sketching from life is merely to achieve resemblance, verisimilitude or a certain aspect, one can hardly free oneself from the physical form of the subject. The result will be a lean towards either a certain interpretation or the form of the subject. What matters most in sketching from life is to achieve spiritual likeness, or your personal impression. Otherwise, there can only be artificiality and lifelessness. Therefore, sketching from life means painting Nature as one perceives it, or as one sees it with one’s mind’s eyes.” he said.

From this we know that sketching from life is a means or some sort of practice. It takes not only the coordination of the eyes and hands to capture the fleeting moment but also imagination and creativity to express what one feels deep inside. In other words, sketching from life is not just about identifying themes and recording sights. It is part of the creative process where the painting subject is regenerated and transcended.