Affected by his supervisor Li Keran, Long Rui paid close attention to sketch and maintained proficient skill of imagebuilding. However, with the continuous promotion of innovation trend in the mid period of the 1980s, Long Rui tried to get rid of the traditional sketch pattern and attempted to explore new creative methods. He created lots of artworks in this period, some of which gained people’s approval and positive comments. While his artistic path has been gradually changed since the 1990s, for the ideological trend of returning to tradition waved the cultural circles. He began to consider the inner spirit of paintings and think his aesthetic pursuits on landscape paintings.

20世紀以來中國畫藝術思潮波瀾起伏,頗值得我們深入學習與研究。辛亥革命、五四運動之后,雖有一些文化界先驅大力提倡以西畫的寫實方法改造國畫,以促進國畫的革新,并得到不少負笈海外學習繪畫的學子們的擁護,但傳統文人畫的文脈仍連綿不絕。陳師曾為文人畫所作的辯護文字,影響深遠。1949年之前,傳統文人畫與“中西融合”型的國畫兩種格體并存,后者在輿論上略占優勢。待中華人民共和國成立之后,傳統文人畫的藝術主張屢遭批判,以西補中的派別占有主流與正統地位。
這種局面之所以形成,有其復雜的歷史原因。假如說“外師造化,中得心源”體現了國畫傳統的話,那么清代中期之后文人畫末流陳陳相因風氣無疑背離了這種精神。從上個世紀30至40年代始,許多藝術家包括徐悲鴻、趙望云等大力提倡國畫寫生,以矯正末流文人畫只師古人表皮而忘卻傳統文化精神,忘卻師物、師心給國畫創作造成的偏差。
寫生,是“師物”的重要手段,在國畫傳統中并不陌生,只是國畫主張的寫生重在作者對客觀物象的觀察與體會,而不是像西畫那樣對物對景的直接描寫。引進西畫寫生法,無疑促進了國畫內容與形式的變革。在山水畫領域,李可染的理論與實踐產生的影響尤為突出。不過,寫生法本身并不能挽救國畫衰敗的趨勢,只有師造化與師古人、師心結合起來,才是引向國畫向前拓展的正道。后來者學習李可染者多偏重于他的寫生主張,忘記了他“以最大功力打進去”研究古人的艱苦實踐以及用心領悟自然的藝術修養?!?br>