Almighty painter

Chapter 936 Anna's Letter (Thanks to You Luting for being the leader!)

(Sorry, I may need to take a leave these two days. I will try to add more when I have time. Thank you!)

Anna's tone of expression was much more direct and compelling than Cao Xuan's.

She observed Gu Weijing and described the circumstances and moods of artists throughout history, just as botanists describe a flower in a garden, a rose, daffodil, tulip or... plantain.

As a faithful recorder, she recorded their growth and withering, every thread-like leaf vein and insect-eaten hole on the branches and leaves, and drew them all in the form of line sketches on a piece of letter paper at her fingertips.

Just a few strokes.

It is vivid and expressive enough.

This letter was written before what happened that night, otherwise Miss Elena would have predicted Gu Weijing's fear and confusion at that moment in a prophetic tone.

Otherwise, Gu Weijing saw himself in the reflection of others.

Life goes on forever from generation to generation.

The river moon looks the same every year.

Every rose leaf, rose or moss in the world has similar patterns.

"…Let's talk about the work of Ms. K. and Mr. G."

Gu Weijing closed his eyes and was deep in thought.

Anna's unhurried reading continued in his ears. She turned a page of the letter with her fingertips, her tone almost uninterrupted.

"Ms. K. is not a painter like Renoir who is particularly good at depicting joyful emotions. The painting was painted facing the thunderstorm clouds, and the clouds in the sky are rolling like waves... It is difficult to see pure black in the whole picture. The painter's paint is a little gray, and some places are cold blue, which makes the picture look more dynamic... Correspondingly, I have to say that when I first saw "Good Luck Orphanage in the Sun", I also felt a similar sense of movement on the picture. The addition of different styles of color elements makes the picture full of vitality..."

"I would like to describe the feeling in my heart at that moment as drinking a cocktail—"

Miss Elena said.

"Gin, honey syrup, a little water, and sea salt, after being fully stirred with a brush, it becomes a unique and modern classic cocktail."

"After drinking it, your whole body will slowly feel warm."

"My criticism of this painting also comes from this - honey cocktail? It seems that too much honey is added to suit the taste of children. The problem is that the painter has made a fundamental mistake... No matter how much honey you pour into a cocktail, children... children can't drink alcohol at all!"

Miss Elena picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip from her lips, moistened her throat, and began the classic sharp review session.

"The painter has obviously gone in the wrong direction."

"He added too much honey, thus covering up the depth that the work could have achieved. The honey-colored spots of light, the honey-colored sun, the honey-colored walls, and even the transitions between the tree shadows and the scenery in the picture were all handled very smoothly and softly. He intended to create a harmony of colors in the work, which looks like the floating latte art cream in a coffee cup..."

“When my colleagues and I discuss a painting, we often use a classic criterion: light and color represent emotion.”

Anna said.

"I don't like this overly sweet emotion. Because no one can make a promise and tell others that life is sweet and easy. If you want to touch greatness, you should naturally exchange it with perseverance, fighting spirit and anger that you want to give everything."

“The great painters often portray their subjects as tigers, lions, and angry bulls.”

"About this question. After the Art Biennale ended that day, Mr. G and I had a long and heated discussion, and we had a difference of opinion. Yes, after the interview that seemed to have ended perfectly, we had a quarrel. It was a big quarrel, and we almost parted on bad terms. If you ask me, I actually feel familiar with this kind of result."

"Mr. G and I have only met twice. Each time we met, we had a good chat at one point, and then ended up arguing violently. In this respect, we were like two angry bulls."

The woman hummed softly.

Her tone did not sound like that of an angry bull at all. In a rather brisk tone, she began to review the conversation between him and Gu Weijing in the Opera House of the Esplanade that day.

finally.

Anna read: "Regarding that painting, we two gave completely different attitudes. Anger is a part of our lives. Anger is neither derogatory nor complimentary... Mr. G told me that anger can be expressed in countless ways. Beasts are also angry, and it is more difficult to control anger than to be controlled by anger."

"In his book, The Interpretation of Emotion, psychologist Paul Ekman once divided a person's basic emotions into six categories, namely joy, sadness, fear, anger, surprise and disgust. Before writing this review article, I specifically looked up some information and found that ancient Eastern philosophers believed that a person has seven different emotions and six different desires."

"Whichever explanation is adopted, since people cannot use a scalpel to remove certain emotions from the brain like a surgical operation, if they do so, it will undoubtedly destroy the integrity of a person's personality. Then people will eventually need to accept them."

“Love is the secret to accepting anger and making the world a better place.”

……

"Let's get back to the argument between Mr. G and me. I have always been a stubborn person, and it is difficult for me to be convinced by words that sound so false and empty." Anna turned over the letter. "When I left that day, Mr. G questioned me in an unbelievable tone."

Anna curled her lips slightly.

She spoke in a strange tone that she imitated deliberately, as if it was Gu Weijing's voice.

"Ms. Elena, you are the art director of Oil Painting magazine. Your job every day is to tell others about the power of art, the power of art, the power of art."

The woman repeated the phrase three times in succession.

Gu Weijing pursed his lips.

"Didn't I say that many times?" he protested.

"No, you didn't, but you are such a chatterbox."

Anna gave a sharp review with a precise summary.

She thought she had summarized it well.

"How can you not believe in the power of art?" the woman repeated. Gu Weijing did say this.

"Hey."

Miss Elena turned her gaze from the letter in her hand to Gu Weijing lying on the hospital bed.

She hummed softly.

"Little painter, I believe in the power of art, but... you have to be able to prove it, like walking barefoot on the water, or falling into the sea like the prophet Jonah, being swallowed by a fish for three days and three nights, and escaping danger unscathed! (Note)"

(Note: Both are classic miracles in Western religious stories.)
Gu Weijing didn't understand.

Is this what Miss Elena is saying to herself right now, or is it what she was thinking when she wrote it in the letter?

"Two days later, in the morning, I saw a new work in the exhibition hall of the Esplanade. The name of the work is "Human Noise", which is exactly the same as the theme of this Art Biennale. It is a new work in the special exhibition hall that the organizing committee and the National Gallery of Singapore collaborated to build in the last week of the exhibition to take over the exhibition that just closed the day before." "That painting is a very traditional Impressionist work. The creator is still Mr. G."

"Please allow me to make a small advertisement for it."

“By the time readers open Oil Painting magazine and read this article, the entire Biennale should have ended. The photo editor should also have attached the photo of Human Noise to the page. However, I still strongly recommend that you check out the higher-resolution electronic album on the official website of the organizing committee. Or, when this work is exhibited again, go and see it in person.”

"It will definitely be exhibited again, it deserves to be."

"It was a special Impressionist work, so special that every time I see a work of art, I would make a small draft in my mind, thinking about how I should evaluate it if I were to write a review. But when I stood in front of that painting, my first reaction was just a syllable."

"what."

Anna read.

"To this day, a few days later, as I write this article on paper, I have not come up with a clearer summary in my mind than this 'ah'."

“It’s not a perfect painting.”

“It still has a lot of shortcomings.”

"but--"

"what."

Anna read again: "It is to me what Mrs. K.'s 'The Old Church in a Thunderstorm' is to me."

“‘Old Church in a Thunderstorm’ was never a perfect work; it is a special work.”

“The same is true for ‘Human Hustle’.”

“It is not a perfect work, but a special one. It goes beyond the simple visual light and shadow game. It does not have a complex ‘narrative’ structure, a particularly delicate composition, or wild and fantastic ideas.”

"There is only one thing—"

“It is a painting with unique meanings. Anger and fear, death and life, and love are all wrapped up in it. I hope to compare the two works, “Old Church in a Thunderstorm” and “Human Noise”, together. Although in fact they are completely different paintings.”

"…The old church on a rainy day uses complementary colors very restrainedly, with only one strong color contrast…The painter decomposes the existence of the scenery through different lights, abstracting them into a passionate and warm spirit…And the concentration of the spirit, the center of the color contrast, is the candlelight that breaks away from the picture…"

“On the contrary.”

"The Sound of the World is more like the most traditional impressionist paintings by masters, with complementary colors used everywhere. The core of the color contrast between candlelight and thunderclouds is the relative relationship between yellow and purple on the color wheel. We have also seen the same relationship used in large areas in Van Gogh's works, the most typical example is the stars and night sky in The Starry Night."

Miss Elena read slowly.

She dissected the details of Gu Weijing's works one by one, constantly comparing the elements contained in his works, not even sparing the smallest brushstrokes and details.

Gu Weijing listened to Anna's voice.

He seemed to hear the ticking sound of the ladies' watch that Anna had handed to him on the deserted island.

He had heard from others that the process of painting was like a mechanic, assembling countless parts together and finally making them move on the canvas.

Time is tight.

What he painted at that time was a kind of meaning and a kind of spirit.

Anyway, as long as it is assembled and can "run", it's fine.

The process of a woman reading a letter is like that of a mechanic - carefully disassembling a watch into a hundred different parts, placing each of them in a transparent cleaning solution with tweezers, and peeling off the mottled rust caused by the operation or the mechanic's poor assembly skills.

He removed all the typos, impurities, debris and all the imperfections that were made in his haste, restoring it to its most authentic appearance.

finally.

All the parts were suspended on a small tray in the palm of her hand, resting on Anna's chest, with every detail clearly visible.

This feeling is somewhat similar to the feeling when using calligraphy and painting authentication techniques.

It's more finely divided than that.

Gu Weijing listened to Miss Elena's words. There was no system light screen in his mind, but he seemed to see a hundred crystal ruby ​​bearings, and the gears, hairsprings and automatic rotors made of gold flashed in sequence in the sun.

"..."

"If the spirit of the work "Old Church in a Thunderstorm Day" is all concentrated on the candlelight on the picture, then "Human Noise" is actually a scattered painting. Compared with a crown inlaid with diamonds in the center, it is more like a mechanical watch with countless jewel bearings as a fulcrum."

Miss Elena read out.

“Its essence is distributed. The light and shadow, the mist, the Tyndall effect of sunlight in the air, and the protagonist on the sofa are all part of it, even the distant view of the work.”

“What I am most concerned about is precisely the long-term vision of the work.”

"The distant view of the work "Old Church on a Thunderstorm Day" is undoubtedly the rolling thunderclouds. The distant view of "Human Noise" is more special, it is a painting, and there are blurred oil paintings hanging on the wall above the picture."

"Remember in Hamlet, Prince Hamlet once arranged a play for the people of the kingdom to watch, in which a court murder was staged to expose Claudius's crime?"

"It was a classic play within a play. Inside the curtain and outside the curtain, the two sides were mirror images of each other."

"This."

“The pattern that Mr. G painted on the distant view of the painting is a painting within a painting.”

Anna said.

“It is the human world in the painting, it is a magic mirror that reflects the human heart.”

"Come, come, come, sit down and don't move. I will put a mirror in front of you and let you look into your soul."

Miss Elena obviously has a good foundation in stage plays, and she recited one of Prince Hamlet's most classic lines in a sonorous and powerful voice.

"Ah, Hamlet, I beg you not to speak any more. You have opened my eyes to the depths of my own soul, to those indelible black stains which are in it."

Turn around.

She changed to a woman's voice again.

(End of this chapter)