Almighty painter

Chapter 1014 Confidence
"So... I'd also like to ask you for a favor."

"That's what the painter said."

He pointed to the note: "Please don't include this little incident in your report. I don't want to hide my interest in the Master Project, and I don't even mind if you write that I'm determined to win the whole project. But it would be too disheartening for gallery partners to think that I'm obsessed with their competitors' products."

"Out of professional ethics, I don't want to cause such a misunderstanding."

“Okay.” Robert nodded and handed the note back to the other person. He hesitated for a moment as he passed it over. “But—you’re really determined to get that watch, aren’t you?”

"This is just a private matter."

he requested.

"Yes, that's right." Gu Weijing gave a straightforward answer. "You could say that."

“I’ve seen a similar watch on Mr. Kozens’s wrist; it was expensive and exquisite, but my desire for it is not for the reasons mentioned above,” he added.

“It’s because of honor.” Robert believed he had found the answer. “Since you entered the art industry, you have never lost a single competition. You are always the one in the spotlight, and you always get whatever you want.”

"Beyond—"

Robert quoted the notes on the sticky note.

“You want to prove that you are the best among your generation of painters, and you believe that you can surpass everyone else in the same project.”

“Since I entered the art industry, the only thing that can be associated with the word ‘competition’ is the Singapore Biennale two years ago, but strictly speaking, it was not a competition, but an exhibition.” Gu Weijing closed the note into the book.

"No one is immune to loss, and no one can always get everything they want. Even before participating in the biennial, I never imagined that I could win the gold medal at the exhibition; there were just too many coincidences."

He said.

“However, this time, I truly believe I can win the ‘Gold Award’ in the Master Project.” Gu Weijing changed the subject. “I believe I’m the most outstanding person in this project. As for why I want that watch so much—”

He also paused briefly.

"Let's just keep it as a little secret that we can't tell outsiders," Gu Weijing said.

"Come on!"

Robert let out a groan as if he had been scratched by a cat. "Please, Mr. Gu, don't just tell me halfway through. Just tell me. It doesn't have to be in the report. Just satisfy my personal curiosity."

Gu Weijing shook his head but did not answer.

"Ok."

Robert reluctantly gave up trying to persuade him.

"I mentioned your work called 'Winter' for the Master Project, which is why you believed you could be the winner of this art project? We just talked about the existential crisis of watercolor painting, and you said... you hoped to use the tangible brush to paint something more 'essential' beneath the surface of the landscape. Not just a painting, but an ice sculpture about the image of 'cold'."

"You can think of this as an abstract color game."

Gu Weijing said.

He pointed to the photos on the wall, those tangible landscapes and blurry blocks of color, "like peeling back layers of an onion, we can extract color from a photo and retain the feeling of the photo as much as possible. So, we can also try to extract the 'concept' itself from color."

"Only one basic element remains, representing 'experiential feeling'. It's hazy, like a fog."

“And that painting is the bottle. I first extract the ‘mist’, and then seal the ‘mist’ back into the bottle of brushstrokes. This process greatly hones one’s painting skills.”

"Then why 'winter'? Because the German winter left a deep impression on you?"

Robert then asked a question.

"This is one of the reasons. The works required by the Master Project are generally based on two principles: one is that they should be related to one's own campus life over the past few years, and the other is that they should be related to historical art masters."

"When people talk about cold, they often think of Russian art and literature. Tolstoy, Repin... endless snow, frozen rivers. But during my studies, I discovered that there are actually many elements related to 'snow' and cold in German historical paintings as well. For example, Kasper David Friedrich, many of his landscape paintings have a sense of mystery, as if the scene is frozen in fog..."

"...I drew a lot of inspiration from his works."

Gu Weijing said.

"If when people view my work, they can unscrew the 'bottle cap' again and feel a real sense of winter, without feeling heavy snowfall, but instead gently tighten their collars and breathe out a puff of cold mist. It's like standing in front of an ice sculpture. The only exception is that this ice sculpture will not melt in summer. Then I think it will be a success."

Robert nodded, seemingly understanding.

After more than half a year of intensive study and with Sarah's recommendation, Robert became a fashion editor. He had already shed his status as a newbie in the industry, but he still felt that he only had a vague understanding of those particularly abstract descriptions.

The reporter's interest in this artwork, titled "Winter," stemmed more from his interest in a bizarre theft case.

In Robert's current understanding, the story of someone's work being stolen right after it's finished is legendary in itself, and legend always adds luster to a painting.

of course.

Robert believes that Gu Weijing's statement that he could become the "winner" in this master program is true.

That's not the opinion of those who only care about business.

Robert thought so too—even though he hadn't seen a single hair of the painting.

Since he sold one of his paintings for "millions of pounds," he has ceased to be a competitor with any of the other students in the project.

On the surface, they are students at the same school, but they are not even on the same level. The undergraduate program they are participating in is called the "Master Program," which is intended to allow students to draw inspiration from the great masters of art throughout history, just like the devout apprentices who follow the masters in their studios.

The problem is that.

Before even graduating from the master program, the young apprentice in the studio has already become a new master.

If we judge heroes solely by their net worth, then Gu Weijing is probably worth more than most of the "masters" in art textbooks.

In today's booming art market, comparing only the transaction prices of artworks is tantamount to disrespecting the ancients.

In terms of understanding watercolor painting techniques, Gu Weijing has long been an expert.

Robert's opinion on whether a painter is worthy of being recognized as a master may not be very convincing, but he knows that the Hamburg Academy of Fine Arts probably thinks so too, or at least that's what the head of the art-in-residence program thinks.

Gu Weijing's current treatment is nothing like that of a student.

Miss Elena said that Gu Weijing's "oil paintings" had the quality of watercolors, and Mr. Samuel Kertzens was also very satisfied with the works in Gu Weijing's exhibition.

After the exhibition ended, Kozens began to have Gu Weijing take charge of part of the art-in-residence program.

Gu Weijing did a great job.

He is very popular.

Looking at what just happened, it's clear that the young men and women who had gathered around him earlier were less like classmates who were in a group with Gu Weijing, discussing classroom issues and completing assignments together, and more like apprentices in this "Gu Weijing Studio."

"What does it feel like to sell a painting for one million pounds?"

"Robert asked."

"One of your paintings could buy a jet plane."

“Joy, intense joy, or you could say…vanity.” Gu Weijing answered candidly as always. “I don’t mind talking about my vanity. This is the real me. For a painting to sell for such a high price, it undoubtedly fills me with the joy of being recognized.” “I can’t help but hum a song when I’m taking a shower.”

“I feel... finally, finally, after so much, my agent, my gallery, and I... through everyone’s efforts, we have finally made something of ourselves.”

"Are you expecting a more artistic answer?" Gu Weijing looked at Robert.

“I’ve heard that some artists are distressed because their works sell for too high a price, and some even fall into a kind of nihilistic melancholy.”

"I shouldn't be that kind of person."

"Feel sorry."

"But at least that's a fairly honest answer." Gu Weijing lowered his head, picked up the teacup next to him, but didn't drink the water; he just looked at the teacup floating in the water.

Robert shrugged.

"The last set of questions... This set of questions is a little special. Before, I asked them as a journalist from 'The Vogue,' but now I'm asking them as a biographer. You promised to write a biography for you that grows like tree rings, with more and more content as time goes by, right?"

“You mentioned it to me on the phone,” Gu Weijing nodded.

"So I want to ask some more personal questions that won't appear in the Vogue magazine, but will appear in your future personal biography."

Robert said.

"So, you can answer more boldly if you like—of course, if my question offends you, I'm sorry, you can also choose not to answer."

Robert greeted the cameraman, who nodded to indicate that he had turned off the recording.

"Mr. Gu, I've received some information that your contract with your agent, Ms. Elena, is for three years?"

"Yes."

"If you count it up, it should end at the end of this year." Robert counted on his fingers; it had been exactly three years since the Singapore art exhibition ended.

Robert asked.

“It seems that after your previous solo exhibition, apart from this campus art project, you don’t have any art projects in the public sphere.”

Will your partnership continue?

Gu Weijing remained silent for a short while—

“I’m sorry, Miss Elena, you’ve got it wrong. If that’s your definition of an artist, then I’m not the artist you’re expecting.”

"Be your own Van Gogh!"

"Gu Weijing, I sentence you to death!"

The sound of the porcelain cup shattering, thrown out of the window, still seemed to echo in his ears.

Gu Weijing shook his head.

"Is this a difficult question to answer?" Robert waved his hand.

"Do not."

Gu Weijing thought about it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"That's what the young painter said."

As Robert left Gu Weijing's studio, he turned around and saw Gu Weijing standing by the carpet in the living room, looking at the photos on the wall.
-
"sorry Sorry sorry."

The next morning.

When the directionally challenged Robert stood in front of a ranch on the outskirts of Hamburg, frantically apologizing to another impatient young woman, he felt as if everything had fallen into a nightmare-like time loop.

Robert was so frustrated he wanted to bang his head against a wall. He'd gone to the right campus this time, only to find the location wasn't even in the photography department building. And the letters of the name in the location the secretary had sent him led to several destinations in German navigation...

Anyway.

After a series of complex coincidences.

Yes.

correct.

He is late again.

Moreover, this time, Robert realized that what he had messed up might be even more serious than yesterday.

The other party's secretary was not moved at all by Robert's sincere apology; she hated people who had no sense of time.

She looked serious, as if she wanted to say something.

She just opened her mouth.

"Yes, I know this interview is important, I know this interview is hard-won, and I know being late is a terrible thing to do. I know there are a hundred media outlets outside who want to interview me, and I know that getting this interview opportunity is a privilege. I know that since I'm late, you have every reason to cancel this interview."

Yes, yes, yes.

"sorry."

Robert, his face contorted in pain, spoke with practiced ease.

"I'm so sorry."

Elliott was taken aback.

This guy has been trained to be so obedient! His sincere apology, it looks like he even prepared a ten-thousand-word letter of repentance, made Miss Elliott too embarrassed to say anything.

“Well, Miss Elena is very busy; she has a lot of work to do. It's not that I'm trying to be difficult, but last month NBS wanted to film a…”

“NBS wanted to film a short documentary, but they were turned down. Ms. Elena has the authority to screen guests. I’m honored to have this opportunity,” Robert interjected.

"I understand, I understand, I'm sorry!"

Elliott was stunned again.

"Alright, then this is the last time. Follow me."

finally.

The secretary bypassed Robert and led him into the main building of the ranch.

Robert finally breathed a sigh of relief.

(End of this chapter)