Almighty painter

Chapter 949 Gu Weijing's New Mission

"The Way of the Master—"

"Breaking Through the Realm: The purpose of painting is to educate, assist in human relations, explore the mysteries of the universe, and fathom the subtle and profound. It has the same function as the Six Classics, operates in harmony with the four seasons, and originates from nature, not from written works."

"Note: Every art master in the world is completely different. So, find your own path to mastery in painting."

Gu Weijing looked up at the system panel from his desk.

When his Chinese painting skills reached the third level of professional painter perfection a few months ago, a corresponding task prompt appeared on the system panel.

Gu Weijing immediately recognized the phrase on the system panel, a phrase he was now very familiar with.

It comes from the first sentence of the first chapter of the first volume of Zhang Yanyuan's "Record of Famous Paintings Through the Ages". The gist of it is that painting is related to education and human relations. Painters explore the mysterious changes of nature and can ultimately contain the most profound and subtle truths in their brushstrokes.

Painting is like the Six Classics, like the changing seasons of heaven and earth, it is the most genuine expression of nature's true feelings—something that cannot be fabricated by human hands!
This is the breakthrough task given to Gu Weijing by the system panel, and it is also the most important task in history. In the past, upgrading from Lv.3 to Lv.4, Lv.4 to Lv.5, or Lv.6 were all quantitative changes. However, the system panel has always emphasized that upgrading from Lv.6 to Lv.7, from a professional painter at level three to a master painter at level one, is a qualitative change.

this moment.

You have already entered the inner circle and become a true master of art. You no longer painstakingly imitate art trends; your name has become a part of art itself.

This was also the most ambiguous breakthrough mission he had ever received.

"It originates naturally and is not created by any means"—this cannot be considered a proper task!
The task requires clarity and specificity, with a clear objective and a clear path, enabling one to move towards the objective step by step.

One journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

But what kind of mission is it to say that "it is the most genuine expression of nature's true feelings, and it cannot be fabricated!"?

It was as if Gu Weijing had exhausted all his energy, studying late into the night to prepare for an exam, believing that once the exam was over, he would be free to soar like a fish in the sea and a bird in the sky. Having passed the exam, he would be a renowned painting master, one of the great artists of all time.

How exciting!

As soon as the exam bell rang and the papers were handed out, he picked one up and realized it was a blank sheet of paper with no questions on it. The young artist, Gu Weijing, raised his hand and asked the proctor, "Excuse me, what are the exam questions?"

Is he going to write an argumentative essay or a narrative essay?

Is he going to paint plum blossoms like Wang Mian of the Yuan Dynasty, or eggs like Leonardo da Vinci of the Renaissance?

The teacher replied, "I'm sorry, but I don't really know what the test questions are either."

The system's notes were extremely vague, as if they said nothing at all. It was as if the key to the problem was finding the key issue, and the key to becoming a master painter was painting like a master painter.

Gu Weijing's confusion and growing anxiety over the past few months are also related to this breakthrough mission.

He lost his goal.

Or rather, the goal was right before their eyes, after a long and continuous effort. The pavilions and towers of the mountain palace were all within sight, finally no longer shrouded in layers of mist.

Gu Weijing reached out with ecstatic joy, his fingertips touching the magnificent nine-zhang-tall golden nanmu door the instant he touched it.

Everything vanished like smoke.

He raised his hand.

Palaces and pavilions reappeared one by one, and he could almost hear the laughter and tea drinking sounds of the people inside.

How could this not be confusing and perplexing?

If it's a very difficult task, just read a hundred books, paint ten thousand paintings, or hold a certain number of art exhibitions, one by one. If it requires a huge amount of free experience points, just earn them little by little.

As long as there are clear questions to answer and clear requirements for the answer sheet, Gu Weijing only needs to work hard.

But it wants nothing more than the harmonious operation of the four seasons, arising naturally.

That's precisely the most difficult part.

This waiting, with no clear path in sight, tormented Gu Weijing. He knew he wasn't particularly well prepared, but the art exhibition was scheduled to be held in 35 weeks, six months and thirty-five weeks, or a year and thirty-five weeks.

If he remains stuck at his current level...

So—is there any essential difference between them?

What is the point of waiting?
The student taking the exam sat in his seat, watching the clock hanging in the classroom tick by, staring blankly at the blank paper in front of him, pen in hand.

finally.

Three months later, Gu Weijing could only grasp one principle.

He may have taken the wrong exam; this wasn't an artist's exam, it was a Hogwarts exam. The candidate they wanted to select wasn't Leonardo da Vinci, nor Wang Mian, but rather…

Ma Liang's Magic Paintbrush!

Drawing plum blossoms or eggs won't work; he has to draw a wooden boat on the paper, run to pluck the moon from the water, and take flowers from the mirror.

Gu Weijing wielded his brush and wrote seven "quiet" characters on the paper.

The seven characters "静" (quiet) seemed to have absorbed all of Gu Weijing's strength. Finally, with a lift of the vertical stroke, the brush heavily slammed down on the edge of the paper, leaving a long line of ink marks.

Cao Xuan's own calligraphy was influenced to some extent by Yan Zhenqing.

When he had Gu Weijing practice calligraphy, he suggested that Gu study Ouyang Xun's works. Ouyang Xun's works emphasize structure, are strict in rules, and are characterized by their squareness, strength, and slenderness. Ouyang Xun's regular script especially emphasizes composition. Studying Ouyang Xun is not only a way to cultivate one's character, but also a great way to strengthen one's brushwork skills.

Gu Weijing already had a very good foundation in calligraphy.

If you want to practice from beginning to end again without being swayed by your past writing habits, a clear structure is very important.

every day.

As is his custom, Gu Weijing would meticulously copy a page of the "Jiucheng Palace Liquan Inscription" from beginning to end in this rubbing book. The "Jiucheng Palace Liquan Inscription" consists of 24 lines, with approximately 50 characters per line.

If you write a few dozen characters every day, it will take about a month to copy the entire text from beginning to end.

He was in a bad mood today, and the art exhibition was also a pressing matter.

Gu Weijing originally didn't want to write today.

Looking at the seven characters for "quiet," he thought of the words Cao Xuan had said when they parted.

"Live an artistic life."

His teacher was always right.

Gu Weijing hesitated for a moment, then picked up the brush again and carefully wrote a large character.

After finishing writing, Gu Weijing looked at the large characters in front of him and remembered what Miss Elena had said when they parted.

"Some things are not meaningful or rewarding just because you spend time pretending and then applaud."

His agent is always right.

He didn't actually become calm just by writing seven "quiet" characters on a piece of paper. Nor did he gain anything by pretending to practice calligraphy when he couldn't calm down.

He understands everything.

He tried his best to learn all sorts of theories, both positive and negative, back and forth, until Gu Weijing was tired of hearing them... but he was still very confused.

"Perhaps, Grandpa felt the same way every day when he forced himself to practice painting?"

Gu Weijing thought to himself.

He checked the time, took out his phone, and prepared to make a video call to the old man.
-
"Meow! Meow, meow."

The British Isles.

London. A green garden.

“Wow! It’s absolutely gorgeous, Shenjun! I have to use that word to describe it. I’ve never seen such a majestic cat. Mr. Gu, is this lady the ‘King’ you spoke of?”

"No, no, no, it's not 'Wang'. It's 'Wang'!"

A gentleman wearing a tweed hat, standing beside a watercolor palette, corrected his female companion's pronunciation.

"Wang!"

The old gentleman barked loudly.

“Wang?”

"Yes, its name is Awang, and it's my cat. Its personality is like mine... or rather, like a lion. I've always taught my grandson that the most important thing in artistic creation is to be passionate. The same principle applies to raising pets; you have to raise a cat that's like a lion."

"Oh, is that so?"

Her female companion gently covered her lips, which were covered in lipstick. "If it were anyone else, I would think you were bragging, but if it's you..."

What if something happens to me?

The gentleman standing nearby secretly pricked up his ears.

"I'm willing to believe half of it. I believe... people who like Hemingway must possess strong courage, and besides, you are such a wonderful artist. Mr. Gu."

"Hahaha."

“I’ll take that as a compliment, Mrs. Kim.” The gentleman placed his left hand behind his back and held a paintbrush in his right. “But… I have a secret to tell you? Watercolor isn’t exactly my forte—”

A huge tabby cat was lying on a long table on the lawn in the park, eating canned meat while looking at the old slut in front of it with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.

"Meow!"

It let out a soft cry.

I'm tired, Old Gu, please come and serve me!
Just like Pavlov training his dog, Gu Tongxiang immediately put the watercolor tray aside, reached out and scratched its ear, and Awang lazily yawned.

My massage skills are far inferior to Xiao Gu's, and I still need to practice my cooking.

"That's just how cats are. Raising a cat is a real hassle. You can tell by how fat it is. I have to spend a lot of time taking care of it. It's such a pain."

Gu Tongxiang sighed.

"But what can I do? It's just so clingy."

“Mr. Gu, you are such a kind-hearted person,” said the elderly lady beside him, who had an elegant and dignified face.

"Would you like to feed it again, Mrs. Kim?"

"Don't call me Mrs. Jin, just call me Ms. Jin. I still feel quite young!" the lady said in English.

Gu Tongxiang stretched lazily to the side.

I'm so cool!
Old Gu gave himself a big thumbs up.

Gu Tongxiang went to Hamburg last month and learned that his grandson was preparing for an art exhibition and might also be going to Paris for a while. After learning that he wouldn't be home for a period of time, he offered to help him bring Awang over to take care of him.

The Maes Gallery has a great environment, located in a relatively central location in London. From the windows of the gallery's offices, you can see the London Eye on the Thames in the distance, and it is not far from several municipal parks.

Gu Tongxiang enjoys the feeling of being able to run out and paint in the garden every day.

An old man is painting here.

Passersby would often ask him a few questions out of curiosity, and when they learned that he was a contracted painter with a major gallery, they would often immediately show admiration in their eyes.

An elderly painter, painting the sunset every day, is, apart from being a little bald, the epitome of the image of an artist.

Ever since Gu Tongxiang added a tweed hat to his field trip gear list, his only flaw suddenly ceased to be a flaw.

Old Gu discovered it again.

What attracts passersby's curiosity more than the canvases around them are... the pets.

This garden also has a special pet desensitization path, and many people bring their pets for walks every day. A sufficiently eye-catching pet can often attract countless people to strike up conversations.

Old Gu first went to a pet store and found that cats and dogs with pedigree certificates in London were incredibly expensive, and also looked too similar to each other.

Others keep a poodle, so he keeps a poodle too.

Not tough enough.

Not strong enough in character.

Gu Tongxiang considered the possibility of raising parrots, but considering that training parrots to read Hemingway would be a huge undertaking, it would be better for him to put a copy of "The Green Hills of Africa" ​​on his bookshelf while he was painting, or raise a large lizard or something to take out for a walk, which would be too eccentric.

So he came up with a plan and, under the pretense of helping his grandson take care of the cat, brought Awang back with him.

Hemingway.

hard.

An old painter who paints sunsets.

Cool.

A handsome cat.

Cool.

Hemingway, an old painter depicting sunsets, and a handsome cat. These three elements combined create a look that's tough, cool, and stylish.

"Absolutely invincible."

After a hasty and tearful farewell to Lao Yang last month, the great painter Mr. Gu is once again feeling somewhat lonely.

“Mr. Gu, next month is my 62nd birthday,” Mrs. Jin said.

"Yours?"

Gu Tongxiang looked surprised.

"62 years old? Good heavens, I thought you were at most under 55."

"Don't say that, I know you're flattering me." The old lady waved her hand apologetically, but a happy smile still appeared on her lips. "May I order a painting from you as a souvenir? Of course... if it's not too expensive."

"of course can."

Gu Tongxiang picked up his paintbrush and nodded.

“You can go to the official website of the Hermès Gallery; there are official agents there who handle this. Just tell them you want to see Mr. Gu. Of course, you should tell them you want the older one, because my grandson is also a contracted painter with the Hermès Gallery. I think it will probably cost several thousand pounds.”

As Gu Tongxiang painted, he explained, "I signed a contract that all sales of my works must go through the official channels of the Ma Shi Gallery."

The old lady nodded.

"Ok."

“Of course, this is buying, but there’s another option.” Old Gu first showed off his grandson, then changed the subject.

"I can also give you a piece of art directly."

(End of this chapter)