Almighty painter

Chapter 1019 Who Smells the Truth First
"The ghostly lover sneaks into the vast hall."

"They were silent and unknown."

"The gatekeeper was lying drunk beside the gate."

"Only the alert dog jumped up, licked its lips, and trembled like a leaf."

"It realized—"

"That's the arrival of our master!"

—Adapted from John Keats's long poem, "The Eve of St. Ani," Chapter 12.
-
Yang Dekang drove his sports car while listening to the audio program coming from the stereo.

"...Becoming a painter never means who has a certain talent, but rather who decides to live a certain kind of life."

"Mr. Sloth said softly."

"While recording this episode, a sentence popped into my head. Was it Picasso? Picasso seems to have said something similar, um... let me think."

"Oh."

Picasso said something similar, probably to his partner, that he didn't want to be an art critic, he didn't want to live the life of an art critic, or something like that.

Yang Dekang scratched his chin.

“Yes—I never want to be an art connoisseur, I only ever want to be a painter.” He pouted and said softly to the road ahead as he drove, “Summer of 1946. Picasso said this to Francis Gilot at his holiday villa on the outskirts of Paris.”

The sound from the speakers continued.

"This sentence once filled me with an overwhelming sense of loss," Mr. Sloth said. "Whether you like or hate Picasso, no matter what you say about the controversies surrounding Picasso's personal morality, whether you think he was a genius in the art world or a scoundrel in his private life, or both."

"People have to admit that Picasso is a name that can never be ignored when talking about art in the past century."

This name, to some extent, can even represent the European art industry itself.

Picasso believed that art appreciation and art criticism were meaningless. He never wanted to listen to art connoisseurs because they always said the wrong things, even though they surrounded him all the time, praising him, flattering him, and fawning over him.

"but me."

"Mr. Sloth".

"And this podcast."

"Mr. Sloth's Art Salon has been engaged in art criticism since the program started."

“Just over a month ago, the channel’s subscriber count surpassed one million. As a podcast host, I felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment,” Mr. Sloth said. “But as an art critic, from Picasso’s perspective, it seemed like I was doing something completely meaningless.”

"When I think about this issue, I tend to attribute it to Picasso's conceited nature. I tell myself not to care about these things; it's just the contempt of someone with artistic talent for someone without. It's the disdain of someone with artistic talent for someone without."

“Until a few months ago, around July or August of last year, I received a drawing from Detective Cat. At the time, she was working on a set of illustrations, which was one of the illustrations in the new issue of the “World Zoo” series. When I was recording this episode, the illustration had already been published and printed. For viewers who haven’t seen it, I will include the illustration in the Shownotes on the Apple Podcasts homepage.”

"That's a very un-'Detective Cat' style of work."

Yang Dekang, who was driving, did not take out his phone to look at the relevant page.

Since Mr. Sloth said that it was a set of works that was not very "Detective Cat" style, then he roughly knew which one the other party was referring to.

A few months ago, Detective Cat's new "World Zoo" series of illustrations sparked considerable controversy.

Since this mysterious illustrator appeared online under the name "Detective Cat".

From the initial illustration comparison of "$1 vs. $100 million" in her main YouTube video, to her invited exhibit at the Singapore Biennale, and her trending collaborative collectibles over the past year.

Detective Cat is gradually becoming a trendy cultural symbol on the internet.

More and more people are chasing after Detective Cat's artwork as a fashion item. Detective Cat seems to like this trend as well. Her paintings are diverse, ranging from oil paintings to watercolors, but they are all full of "childlike fun," with bright colors, exquisite shapes, and delicate and cute brushstrokes.

Detective Cat has drawn a large number of works featuring animal subjects, all of which follow a fresh and simple visual style.

That set of illustrations was different.

The main color of the painting is a dark brown tone, like the color of summer lotus leaves, but darker and more muddy.

The entire series has sparked considerable controversy among Detective Cat's fan base.

"When I first received the artwork, I even thought I had received the wrong manuscript—was this really the illustrator I knew? Why was her work so ugly? Why was it so clumsy? Then suddenly I realized that this was her intentional choice, a deliberate roughness."

"For a long time, Detective Cat has liked to draw works that are smooth enough, flat enough, and have a honey-like golden hue. Just like her brushstrokes, she always strives for perfection and flawlessness. In that famous YouTube video, the biggest mistake that the picky, unappealing, and annoying Anna Elena pointed out to Detective Cat was simply that the paper of the sketch was faulty and that the fixer had not been sprayed after the drawing was completed."

[That picky, ingratiating, and annoying woman—Ms. Anna Elena.]

Ah!
Old Yang made a gurgling sound in his throat.

That's brave of you, young man.

You'd better pray that Miss Elena doesn't hear this podcast, and finally pray that you can maintain this mystery forever.

otherwise.

Mr. Sloth —

If you really run into Anna Elena, or whatever Mr. or Ms. Sloth you've offended, she'll grab your tail and pull you down from the tree, then pluck all your fur out!
"Now."

"The story has changed."

Mr. Sloth was unaware of Yang Dekang's interpretation. In the podcast, the host continued reading in his usual unhurried tone.

"On a fairytale stage, everything should be presented in such a perfect and flawless way. Just like 'Tom and Jerry,' they are always full of energy, always performing endless comedy, and there is never a concept of death. Even if they really die, they can return from a cartoonish heaven or hell."

"But on this day, in this painting, Tom and Jerry have stepped out of their cartoon. The cats in the illustrations look like they've lost their magic. It looks like it just climbed out of the water."

"In the past."

"With just a flick of its wrist, all the water droplets will disappear in a magical way."

"This time, the muddy water still dripped down its whiskers little by little, even mixed with some grass roots and fallen leaves."

"I have to admit that these works no longer have the strong decorative qualities they used to have. They also lack the sweet and delicate color combinations and the brushstrokes that are like polished and sparkling red agate."

"It is no longer the iconic detective cat fairy tale."

"It stepped out of the cartoon, out of its own cage. Then, real dust and dirt, real alienation and pain completely replaced the non-stop comedy in the cartoon."

"The real world thus unfolds before our eyes."

"I had a discussion with Detective Cat."

Mr. Sloth said, "Do we want to change the world, or be changed by it? Do we want to be a mediocre but lucrative painter, or do something else entirely?"

"This dramatic problem was placed before Detective Cat."

"Detective Cat seemed to scratch the canvas with his paw, then refused to be content with merely serving as a symbol of a commercial market. He wanted the artwork to be more than just icing on the cake, more than just constructing a fantasy. He wanted to find a deeper reason."

"And the detective cat's answer was—what painting is nothing more than the exploration and understanding of oneself, it's about knowing yourself..."

Is the true meaning of painting the exploration of oneself?

Yang Dekang blinked.

As he listened to Mr. Sloth's interpretation of Detective Cat's work, he thought, "This sounds a little familiar! He seems to have said something similar to Brother Gu before."
immediately.

The clever Yang Dekang came to two conclusions.

One.

That's right, Yang Dekang is a true genius.

two.

Yang Dekang has always been the one copying other people's jokes, but this guy is actually borrowing his thoughts and insights from afar.

Shameless!

He listened to Mr. Sloth's program while humming along.

"Let's go back to the question we started with. Picasso seemed to hate art critics. When they criticized him, Picasso hated them. He thought they were spouting nonsense. Art critics revered him like gods, worshipped him like gods. Galleries all over the streets swarmed around him like concubines waiting for their favor, hoping to catch a glimpse of Picasso. In those days, the newspapers were full of lengthy praises for Picasso."

Picasso still hated them. He thought they were all wrong.

Rather than saying that Picasso hated art critics, it would be more accurate to say that he never wanted to be an illusion created by others; he wanted to be himself.

"The title of this podcast episode is 'Revisiting Van Gogh.' In my mind, Van Gogh also possessed the same spiritual qualities."

"For Van Gogh—"

"...Becoming a painter never means who has a certain talent, but rather who decides to live a certain kind of life."

"Mr. Sloth said."

"Van Gogh is a special painter to me, and a special painter to all painters. If you were to conduct a survey in Europe to find out who is the name that best represents the group of painters in people's minds, the top three names on any list would most likely remain unchanged forever."

"Van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, Picasso."

“Vincent van Gogh,” said Mr. Sloth. “This name usually comes before Picasso, and even before Da Vinci. He possesses a more captivating magic than the former two. He is like a waltz of flowers that I love.”

"Colorful".

“Colorful”.

"It has so much intense passion and a vivid, fairytale-like personality."

"But at the lowest level of the music, there is a kind of melancholy sadness."

While talking.

In the background of the podcast, the sound of Tchaikovsky's "Waltz of the Flowers" played on a piano could be heard, with a melodious and colorful tune.

"That's strange, you know what? Has anyone else played this piece?"

Old Yang hummed.

"Picky, hard to please, and annoying Anna Elena."

"What's so strange about that? Opposites attract, likes repel."

The sun was shining brightly outside the car window.

The speaker was playing Mr. Sloth's Art Salon.

Yang Dekang drove coolly, thinking about how to poach someone from the other side and take advantage of the situation.

Time flows by like water.

Ah—Life is so B—

"Holy crap!"

Five seconds later, Yang Dekang slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching. He was tightly strapped to the seat by the seatbelt, his belly bulging out like a gourd, and the Munich sausage he had eaten for lunch was almost squeezed out.

Old Yang, however, paid no heed.

He managed to park the car in an emergency parking space on the side of the road, and then grabbed his phone so hard that his hand was shaking.

Most people wouldn't find these things strange. It's just a piece of music, something that has been played countless times by countless people.

but--

This is Old Yang, a true genius.

Illustrations, detective cats, Mr. Sloth—art is about knowing yourself. The familiar "Waltz of Flowers"—all of these elements are connected in Yang Dekang's heart.

He's practically an insider in the industry, and knows things that others don't.

Back in Austria, when Miss Anna played the Waltz of the Flowers next to the musician's former residence, Mr. Yang was there. When Gu Weijing and the Hermès Gallery were discussing their first contract years ago, Mr. Cao even called Hermès III.

Teacher Yang is also in the know.

Not only were they aware of it.

Mr. Yang even knew clearly that although it was a "complete agency agreement" at the time, Gu Weijing had very clear terms and conditions appended to other art projects that were not operated by Ma Shi Gallery.

For example——

Draw illustrations.

It's all strung together, all strung together.

Yang Dekang suddenly raised his neck, stretching his head out as if he had discovered a shocking secret that could not be told.

That little expression, that little gesture, that frantic sniffing—it was exactly like August in the Raffles Hotel, who jumped up from the carpet after smelling something strange.

(End of this chapter)