His paintings do not contain the hustle and bustle of the world.
Silently, steadily, I only drew pictures.

I decided to do what I could do for him.


Painter Jo Pung-ryu.
Just by looking at his name, you can immediately get a sense of what his paintings and life are like.
He freely roams the eight provinces and mountains, capturing the vibrant wild flowers, Jongmyo Shrine, Inwangsan Mountain, and the panoramic view of Seoul on canvas, as if he were a person without limits.
When I look at his paintings quietly, these thoughts come to mind.
How did he come to create paintings that make people stop and look at them?

The story, which begins with this one question, takes a different turn.
A meeting between a painter and an art journalist.
A conversation that can only be shared between two people, not just two, is captured in a book with pictures.
It includes paintings from his early days to the present, and you will discover another beauty of Korea's mountains, rivers, and plants through his unique perspective and original techniques that see familiar landscapes differently. As you turn each page, you will be able to fully experience the charm and depth of Korean colored landscape paintings by Jo Pung-ryu.

As we often say, drawing and creation are about making the familiar seem unfamiliar.
But when you actually go to a place and try to look at it in an unfamiliar way, it doesn't go so well.
How can I see things differently? No.
I just see it as it is and draw it.
However, I draw while thinking a lot about what to leave out and what to reduce, rather than what to draw.
As simple as possible.
Rather than drawing it in an overly complicated and detailed way, let's try to strip it down and just capture the essence. Even if you go with this mindset, it doesn't actually work out well.
(Omitted) When I sketch a landscape, I always just throw it in a corner.
Then, after six months or a year, one day, while flipping through my sketchbook, something suddenly hits me.
Something is being created.
If you work at that exact moment, you'll end up with a good picture.
--- p.42

I think that we need time to mature, time to sustain what comes intuitively through insight, observation, and reflection.
To draw is to interpret.
When you go to see a truly beautiful landscape, you'll say, "Wow! This is amazing!" Everyone feels that way.
But to extract beauty from something that seems ordinary, trivial, and insignificant, you have to look at it for a long time and have affection and obsession for it.
--- p.46

Looking back on the artist's past life, there were several crucial turning points. (Omitted) The artist needed a new turning point.
What newness befitting a new beginning? The artist decided to change his name.
From Jo Yong-sik to Jo Pung-ryu.

--- p.149

All things create resonance through encounters, and the length and depth of that resonance beautifies the world and makes others happy.
Wouldn't the paintings of painter Jo Pung-ryu be the same?
The brilliant conversation he captured on canvas is enough to convey that conversation to the hearts of those who view the painting.

--- p.195

Imagine standing before a magnificent panoramic view of Seoul's landscape.
To truly appreciate the true value of Jo Pung-ryu, you must stand before his paintings.
If you look from a distance, you will see how wonderful the view of Seoul is with a wide field of view, and if you look closely, you will see yourself in the figure of someone drawn like a grain of rice somewhere on the screen.
There is something so charming about being in a painting, like Jo Pung-ryu's paintings.

--- p.206