Almighty painter

Chapter 822 Salt and the Mysterious Visitor
Vulgarity is more hateful than mediocrity.

The latter is a question of ability, while the former stems from personal choice.

Liu Ziming couldn't say that he disliked his second brother Lin Tao. He just felt that the other party lacked a kind of "unique" vitality.

Lin Tao is a very good painter, but not a very special painter.

He paints both oil paintings and Chinese paintings, and he is good at both, but it seems that he has not formed a unique artistic style in either of them.

Therefore, Lin Tao, the oldest one, receives the least attention in the field of art among his fellow brothers and sisters.

It wasn't his fault after all.

Sometimes, Liu Ziming would envy Senior Brother Lin for being able to live in such a busy and mundane life and be happy every day.

But Tang Ning seemed to be different.

She is talented, famous, and has artistic style. She is definitely a top master in the making.

But in Liu Ziming's opinion, his junior sister——

"He is just a guy who thinks he is extraordinary and who thinks he is so different from others."

"When you see a durian, you have to think about Duchamp's urinal. Oh, this kind of pretentiousness, taking a piece of paper scraps and giving it some kind of mysterious and abstract feeling, isn't it the most ordinary and vulgar thing in the world?"

Liu Ziming sneered again and again in his heart.

He never liked Tang Ning, he didn't like Tang Ning as a person, and he even more disliked her pretentious works.

Talent is talent.

A good painting is a good painting.

Liu Ziming doesn't like this junior sister. He just doesn't like this junior sister.

She is a woman who is too self-righteous.

Liu Ziming picked up the pipe from the camping table and slowly filled it with tobacco.

The chair to the right of the middle-aged man was empty. While eating fruit, Third Senior Sister Wei Yunxian didn't like durian and couldn't stand the taste, so she stood up and ran to the other side of the yard to fiddle with the creepers on the wall.

To this senior sister.

Young Master Liu was too lazy to even hum.

There is no difference between him and Tang Ning in essence, they are both ordinary people.

One is self-righteous, the other is self-righteous.

A bunch of raccoon dogs.

There are some things that Wei Yunxian doesn't even have the desire to fight for, so it has nothing to do with her.

After a brief conversation, the atmosphere under the pergola became cold again. Those who wanted to play with ivy played with ivy, those who wanted to eat durian ate durian, and those who wanted to study the philosophy of art studied the philosophy of art.

Liu Ziming lit the pipe and put it in his mouth, then put on his headphones and lowered his head to turn on his cell phone.

What was displayed on the phone screen was a video that was halfway through being played on Tiktok.

It was the debate between Gu Weijing and Cui Xiaoming about artistic style.

"Well."

Liu Ziming bit the sandalwood stem of the pipe with his teeth. The burning tobacco in the pipe flashed and white smoke was sprayed out from between his lips.

The four brothers and sisters gathered in Singapore because of Master Cao's plan to accept disciples.

What is abnormal is that.

The four of them seldom mentioned this matter in private, not taking in apprentices, not mentioning art exhibitions, and even rarely mentioning the name Gu Weijing.

Perhaps it was because everyone knew that each of them had their own opinions on the matter.

They could not reach a consensus.

There is no use in mentioning it.

Perhaps it is also because everyone knows that in this matter, their opinions on Gu Weijing do not actually matter much.

It's still useless to mention it.

Liu Ziming hates Gu Weijing.

His attitude towards Gu Weijing was just like his dislike for Tang Ning; he felt that both of them were equally vulgar and boring.

If it were just that, it would be fine. Tolerating one Tang Ning is the same as tolerating two.

Liu Ziming's dislike for Gu Weijing also reflects a natural aversion humans have to potentially contaminated filth and poison.

A bottle of white seasoning.

As fine as powdery sand.

It is known that this bottle of seasoning may be table salt, it may be arsenic, or it may be table salt mixed with a few grains of arsenic.

Light salt water can replenish physical strength appropriately.

Arsenic water is a deadly poison.

Therefore, in order to eat with peace of mind, what should be done is to send this bottle of seasoning to a very professional laboratory for detailed chemical testing grain by grain to determine its specific ingredients...bullshit.

Who would do this?

Do I have to drink this bottle of salt water?

Any rational person, faced with a bottle of seasoning labeled "May be salt or arsenic", would rather throw it into the trash can outside the door than take a sip and try their luck, right?
This is the logical decision.

Who would risk the "innocence" of a bottle of salt?

This is exactly what Liu Ziming finds most difficult to understand about his teacher Cao Xuan - to him, Gu Weijing is just a bottle of salt, a bottle of boring, bland and mediocre salt.

Why bother?
Do we have to recruit this student just to try it out and see if it’s poisonous?
The trash can is the final destination for seasonings that have a chance of being contaminated.

If the teacher is old and has poor eyesight and cannot clearly read the label on the seasoning, then as a disciple, he has the responsibility to write the word "arsenic" on the label larger and more eye-catching as part of his filial piety.

If you really can't tell whether it is salt or arsenic.

Then it would be best to treat it as arsenic to feel at ease.

This is for the good of the teachers and is also responsible for the careers of all their students.

Liu Ziming was born with no shortage of money.

and so.

He could not accept that his artistic path was tarnished by others.

"You made your own choice. Don't blame me. Blame yourself for not being able to make up your mind, or for not being destined to be my junior apprentice."

Liu Ziming recalled the scene in Basong’s video where Gu Weijing opened the car door in Xihe Hall.

"Everything has a price. When you happily got on the money launderer's Bentley, you probably didn't think about what you gave up."

"karma."

"Is not it?"

Liu Ziming took a puff of the cigarette, but the pipe didn't fill his lungs, so he let the warm air flow stay in his mouth for a little longer before exhaling the smoke.

"Pity."

He said softly.

"What's a pity?"

Tangning looked up after hearing his words.

"Nothing." Liu Ziming shrugged. "The durian flesh will taste better later, so I think it's a pity."

He answered casually.

He lowered his head and continued watching the video in his hand.

Some people say that "the heart's voice is always distorted", while others say that "poetry is like the heart, painting is the imprint of the heart, and painting is like the person."

It's hard to say which of the two is more correct.

Liu Ziming's dislike for Tang Ning and Tang Ning's works is similar. His dislike for Tang Ning as a person is similar to his dislike for Tang Ning's "Hundred Flowers Picture".

The same should have been true for Gu Weijing's works.

He could see the beauty of "Wisteria Flower Painting", but he couldn't like it.

But after the exhibition opened, the painting "Good Luck Orphanage in the Sunlight" exceeded Liu Ziming's expectations. He felt the sense of solid power in the work.

There is no illusory artistic concept, it is simply the vitality that touches people's hearts.

Liu Ziming admitted that he had some subjective prejudices against Gu Weijing himself, but that painting "Good Luck Orphanage in the Sun"... Liu Ziming could even say that he liked it.

He stood in front of the painting for a long time.

Just a little bit different.

The impact of this painting on him was just like the shaking red "Fu" character in his memory.

Think before and after.

Liu Ziming discovered that Gu Weijing's "Good Luck Orphanage in the Sun" was actually his favorite work in the entire exhibition area of ​​the Esplanade.

Yes.

From an award-winning perspective, it's not particularly outstanding except for its painting style.

From a technical perspective, there are many works throughout the Lion City Biennale that are better than that painting in terms of lines, colors, and structure.

But liking someone is unreasonable and is very subjective.

A work by a painter he disliked very much and placed on a remote booth on the second floor was something that even Liu Ziming had never expected would be a work he liked very much.

Life is so ironic.

Compared with the initial version that I had seen in the disciple group, what is more important than the rapid progress in painting techniques is... there are more things beneath the picture.

Compare techniques.

The painting "Bukit Timah" on the CDX Gallery Center booth was naturally better, but Liu Ziming was too lazy to take a closer look.

He even looked down on Tang Ning.

What's more.

A person promoted by a gallery who wants to be Tang Ning's replacement.

If we really talk about technique, among all the works of participating artists, the best one is the "Othello Cats".

Liu Ziming can paint watercolors and he understands watercolors better.

When Liu Ziming first learned about Detective Cat, he thought that the other party was similar to anonymous painters like Banksy, who was a person with a performance art style.

It was hard for him to imagine.

An anonymous painter who once sold illustrations for ten dollars online has such sophisticated brushstrokes.

The light and transparent feeling conveyed by watercolor paintings is something that even Liu Ziming cannot reproduce.

But he still doesn't like it.

The soft and cute cartoon cat does not represent everyone. From Liu Ziming's personal aesthetic preference, it always seems a bit too petty.

Liu Ziming knew that the gold medal of this year's Lion City Biennale would most likely be won between "Bukit Timah" and "Ottarakuru Cats", but he had no interest in buying either of these two paintings.

The only thing that made him want to buy was Gu Weijing's painting.

"Good Luck Orphanage in the Sun" is far from perfect. Apart from techniques and other things, for Liu Ziming, the biggest flaw lies in the "uncle washing the orphans' hair" - the choice and design of such a picture perspective is a bit deliberate.

Like an Edward Hopper painting.

Edward Hopper is the greatest American landscape realist painter. He has many merits, but Liu Ziming always feels that the sense of loneliness cut by light and shadow that Edward Hopper conveys through the landscape seems a little deliberate.

It’s like the chance encounter between the male and female protagonists created by the camera of a movie.

Then again.

Considering the auction record of Edward Hopper's works, which start at $5000 million, there are also works with market estimates of more than $1 million, such as "Gas Station" in the hands of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which has become a symbol of American highway culture.

To say that the style of a new painter's work is like that of Edward Hopper's, even if it has some of Edward Hopper's shortcomings, can be considered a great compliment.

In addition to the interview videos related to the exhibition that Liu Ziming has seen in the past few days -

"The difference between hustle and bustle. It's not just hustle and bustle, it's also smoke and firework..."

in the lens.

Young was standing next to the booth, talking about Wu Guanzhong's works.

"That's very well said. Really very well said."

Liu Ziming nodded slightly.

This was not the first time he had seen this video. Every time, he found what Gu Weijing said very interesting.

He is worthy of being the young man that Mr. Cao has taken a fancy to.

Even if Liu Ziming only regarded Gu Weijing as a bottle of spoiled salt, he was not comparable to someone like Cui Xiaoming.

"act recklessly."

Liu Ziming glanced at Cui Xiaoming, who was about to get angry and embarrassed in the video, and thought coldly.

That painting, "Good Luck Orphanage in the Sunlight," plus this art debate.

Even if Gu Weijing was really a bottle of spoiled salt, it was not as tasteless as he thought.

Liu Ziming also gradually understood some of Cao Xuan's feelings when he looked at Gu Weijing.

and so.

That’s why I just said, “What a pity”.

"Forget it, let's give him a chance."

Liu Ziming thought of those materials.

Kazunari Sakai is not someone to be trifled with, and Liu Ziming doesn't want to make his teacher too sad.

Master Liu decided to give Gu Weijing a chance to exit with dignity.

He will anonymously send the information collected by Basong to Gu Weijing's mobile phone tomorrow night.

This is a warning.

Warn Gu Weijing that the shady business between him and Brother Hao is not unknown. If he is smart, he should just keep his tail between his legs and get out of here.

Gu Weijing had one night to think about it.

If he wasn't smart enough.

So--

These materials will appear on the mobile phones of every judge, guest and reporter at the scene of his conversation with Oil Painting magazine in the form of remote delivery and network disk link sharing.
-
"Ding ding ding."

The bedside telephone in the hotel rang.

"Hey?"

Gu Weijing, who had just returned from a walk at the beach and was writing a document in front of his computer, fully preparing for the next interview, picked up the phone.

"Hello, may I ask, you have an appointment to meet a visitor, right?"

The front desk clerk spoke in English.

"what?"

Gu Weijing was stunned.

"You have a visitor who claims to be here to see Mr. Gu Weijing, the resident of Room 12 on the 16th floor, and says he has an appointment?" the front desk clerk reminded.

"An old gentleman who looks to be around fifty years old. He said he is a staff member of the concierge department of the Raffles Hotel. He has been specially commissioned to visit you--" The person on the other end of the phone seemed to be talking to the other party to confirm the visitor's information.

"Uh, I don't remember. Never mind." Gu Weijing shook his head. "You should ask him to come up and tell it himself."

Gu Weijing was not worried about safety issues.

After all, the Elena family is not Brother Hao.

No matter how angry Miss Elena was, she wouldn't be so angry as to send a gunman from somewhere to shoot him in the head.

"Ah."

Gu Weijing hung up the phone and guessed that it might be related to the interview the day after tomorrow.

Are you from the organizer?

(End of this chapter)