最好的愛情故事是甚麼？如果覺得生活太複雜，不妨從忙裏偷閑，在 Newmasus 簡單而溫暖人心的畫作之中尋回自己的熱忱。
What are the best love stories to be told? If life feels more complicated than it should be, take a moment and fall in love with Newmasus’s simple yet heartwarming illustrations.
來自四川的青年藝術家 Newmasus 從 2017 年起開始創作，八年間在抖音上累積近 80 萬追蹤者，並於去年（2024 年）成功舉行首次個人展覽「Love of My Life」，門票收入達 500 萬人民幣。
Hailing from Sichuan, Newmasus is a young artist who began his creations in 2017 and has attracted nearly 800,000 followers on Douyin. In addition, his first solo exhibition, Love of My Life, was successfully held last year (2024), generating 5 million RMB from tickets.
有趣的是，Newmasus 未有因此而搬到大城市、住上大房子，卻選擇了留在家鄉 —— 被稱為中國年畫及民間藝術之鄉的綿竹市 —— 當一位幼兒美術老師。Newmasus 本名何書涵，小朋友們都叫他做「小何老師」。這位「小何老師」對家鄉的熱愛，甚至體現於他把綿竹的地圖紋在手上，間接呼應了他天天在城內駕車、觀察百態的「夢想」。
Interestingly, Newmasus has not since moved to a big city or into a big house. Instead, he has chosen to stay in his hometown Mianzhu — known as China’s home to New Year pictures and folk arts — as a children’s art teacher. Originally named He Shuhan, his students call him “Little Mr. He”. The love of “Little Mr. He” for his hometown is well-reflected in a tattoo of the Mianzhu map on his wrist, which indirectly corresponds to his “dream” of driving in the city every day and observing lives as they go by.
原來，Newmasus 是一個純粹的「戀愛腦」。他由街頭塗鴉開始（噴寫「好運」只因當時分手了），到以不甚精細的蠟筆創造出一幅幅色彩繽紛又帶點「孩子氣」的作品，一直圍繞着浪漫的感情和幸福的瞬間進行創作。在 Newmasus 眼中，美好的愛情即是平凡而簡單的生活。例如：他的成名作描繪了夜幕低垂之際，一對小情侶在河邊溜狗、散步、吹風。儘管畫中二人的表情沒有清楚展示（這也是 Newmasus 顯著的風格），可是附近環境用色與小狗伸出舌頭前奔的動作，已經隱約透露了生活情景的浪漫氣氛。
It turns out that Newmasus is simply a love-struck person. From early graffiti creations (spray painting the characters for “good luck” because of a breakup) to creating colourful and childlike works with rough crayons, Newmasus has always revolved around romantic feelings and moments of happiness. In Newmasus’s eyes, beautiful love is simple and ordinary life. For instance, his most popular picture depicts a young couple walking the dog by the river at night. Although the couple’s facial expressions are obscured (as per Newmasus’s signature style), the vibrant ambience and the puppy dashing forward with a stuck-out tongue have already hinted at the scene’s liveliness of romance.
借用藝術家最近一次畫展「愛的具象化」的宣傳字句：「愛從不是藏在雲端裏的抽象概念，而是藏在生活角落裏的具象萬千。」願我們都能在生活中發現愛的具象物，化成日常表達的千言萬語！
To borrow the tagline from Love Heals, the artist’s recent exhibition: “Love is never an abstract concept hidden in the clouds, but rather a multitude of tangible moments tucked away in the corners of life.” May we all find these tangible moments of love in life, and express them in words every day!
關於藝術家 ABOUT THE ARTIST
Newmasus 1999 年生於四川，是中國近年崛起的潮流藝術家。他一邊在家鄉綿竹市當幼兒美術導師，一邊進行充滿個人風格特色的蠟筆繪畫創作。Newmasus 的創作主題圍繞簡單而美好的日常愛情生活。藝術家認為，愛的確具有治癒的力量；其具體形象更是隨處可見。
Born in Sichuan in 1999, Newmasus is a rising Chinese popular artist. Working as a children’s art teacher in his hometown Mianzhu, he also creates characteristic crayon illustrations. Newmasus is inspired by simple and beautiful love stories of everyday life. For the artist, love heals indeed, and is tangible wherever one goes.
Newmasus 首本畫集《Love of My Life》，以喜歡的黑膠唱片形式作為設計概念，邀請讀者細心感受音樂與繪畫之間的互動，並從此聯繫愛與生活。
Newmasus’s first collection of paintings, Love of My Life, is designed based on his beloved format of vinyl records. It invites the reader to be aware of the interaction between music and illustration, and from there to connect love with life.
圖片提供：Newmasus｜Courtesy of Newmasus