Almighty painter

Chapter 954 Sunlight Fantasy
In the farmhouse study.

After finishing her work, Miss Elena sat at her desk, looking through J.J. Granville's drawings for Balzac's "The Misery of an English Cat".

Cats dressed in various hats and dresses flitted through the high-society banquet, engaging in all sorts of repressed and hypocritical behaviors in order to maintain their respectable personas.

"Everyone has a cat like this in their heart."

Anna thought to herself.

The woman sat in an armchair, watching the Springer Spaniel on the blanket looking at her with its dark brown eyes, then turned her head to stare at the daylight outside the window.

Feeling bored?

Anna said.

She examined their behavior over the past twelve months, and she felt as if she were lying on the blanket, not August. Her chestnut eyes overlapped with August's dark brown eyes, both staring at the big cat in the room, then looking out the window at the scenery.

They anxiously searched for the true meaning of time in the painting, while precious moments slipped away second by second outside the window.

Miss Elena chuckled softly.

She tossed aside all the magazines and manuscripts in her hands, closed the computer on the table, put it in a drawer, and locked it.

Anna waved, beckoning August over.

She saw her own reflection in the Springer Spaniel's brown eyes.

"Would you like to plan a trip?"

Miss Elena questioned August, and at the same time, she questioned herself.

August let out a soft "woof," as if another Miss Elena was responding to Anna.

"Well, so be it."

"but."

Anna thought for a moment: "Before that, there is one more thing."

Miss Elena picked up her phone from the table and found a name in her contacts. Anna selected it and dialed the number.

"Anna."

After the call connected, the woman casually gave her name, her tone relaxed and familiar.

"I have something I'd like to ask you for a favor... um... let's say it in person, it's a little complicated to explain... yes, I'm in Hamburg, today? Is it convenient for you there... okay, then I'll wait for you at the Hamburg Academy of Fine Arts, we'll meet there."
-
Gu Weijing cancelled his flight to Paris.

Grandpa is right.

People cannot solve problems by running away. Paris may be the art capital of Europe, the city of muses in the hearts of countless great artists.

But this is his art exhibition; this is his battle.

Artwork isn't a jigsaw puzzle, nor is it about taking a trip, checking off a photo, and then bringing home a satisfactory picture. Sitting in a chair, half-closing your eyes, pretending to listen to Miss Elena play the piano, and then clapping your hands and saying "Anna, you played so well" after she finishes won't bring any real benefit.

So, even if you go to Paris to take a photo, stand on the bridge next to the Louvre, clap your hands, and post a picture on Instagram with the caption "The sunset is so beautiful," it still won't allow Gu Weijing to experience the true emotional meaning of the honey-scented sunshine and air described by Renoir.

Anna is right.

Now was not the time to travel. After finishing the background story for the new episode of "World Zoo," Gu Weijing shut down his computer, lay down on the bed fully clothed, and tried to relax and take a nap.

There are no classes.

There is no alarm clock.

Gu Weijing woke up intermittently a few times, but quickly fell asleep again. When he finally woke up fully awake, it was already evening of the next day.

He never realized how exhausted he was.

After getting out of bed, Gu Weijing went outside and walked to the REWE supermarket chain near the school, where he bought a large bag of bread, dehydrated vegetables, and bottled water.

Awang is no longer by my side.

Gu Weijing doesn't even need to prepare cat food; he can live a very simple life if he wants.

After completing a large shopping trip, Gu Weijing returned to his rented room with bags and packages. Although the rent here was expensive, the advantage was that the furniture was very complete, with a refrigerator, washing machine, and microwave all readily available.

He prepared all the food that needed to be processed, cooked all the instant food that needed to be cooked together, and stored it in the refrigerator in portions, just like putting cat food into an automatic feeder.

When preparing ingredients.

Gu Weijing opened his phone. He originally intended to send Viktor a message to tell him that he might not be going to school often during the summer vacation and to take care of some matters related to summer courses. While sending the message, Gu Weijing noticed on the campus network that the photography workshop Viktor had asked him to join yesterday had updated with a new set of photos.

That was a series of street photography shots of the campus scenery.

The first picture in the row shows a tall, slender young man with slightly wavy hair pushing a wheelchair under the moonlight.

His expression was cold.

In contrast, the woman in the wheelchair, with her face turned to the side and a serene and gentle expression, is sharing something interesting with the other person. This campus work is a student photograph, titled "A Midsummer Night".

Gu Weijing recognized Anna as the woman in the wheelchair at a glance.

Below are comments from students.

"His soulmate has been revealed! A moonlit date... his identity is—"

Students at the school had already recognized the man's identity: an outstanding violinist named Gabriel, a once-in-a-century musical genius who had just graduated from the music academy and had already been promoted to first violin of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra in Germany.

Critics say he has a bright future ahead of him.

There are so many people in this world with unlimited potential.

Gu Weijing was thinking.

The world is a vast zoo, a huge flower field. There is never one flower that stands out alone. Every moment, countless roses quietly bloom and then wither away with time.

He turned off his phone screen.

I put the last lunchbox in the refrigerator, then stood by the drawing board and started drawing.

Paint with watercolors.

Draw a rose.

Its name is "Sunlight Rhapsody".

The watercolor professor at the school was Samuel Kertzens, and the students used to like to compare him to Professor Fouché, the devilish professor in the Oscar-winning film "Whiplash" from a few years ago.

Kozens himself loved this metaphor.

He's the kind of person who would wield a small leather whip wildly. If it weren't for the fact that we're in the 21st century, this statement might not just be a metaphor.

He could mentally abuse and even torture his students and derive great pleasure from it.

"Art is everything. I would rather have a morbid genius than a mediocre failure."

Kozens' favorite painter was Winslow Homer, a representative painter of the American Hudson River School, as Winslow Homer once told a reporter who interviewed him.

"The truly great painting technique is watercolor, not oil painting. Watercolor will be more immortal than oil painting."

If one day...

When Gu Weijing went to class, he noticed that Professor Kozens had that phrase tattooed on his face, and he wasn't surprised at all. Considering the way he recited it, almost like reading from the Bible, and the frequency with which he did so. Even today...

When Gu Weijing went to class, he hadn't yet seen Professor Kecens tattoo this sentence on his face, and he was slightly surprised by it.

It was also influenced by the professor.

Gu Weijing's painting also subtly reflects the influence of the Hudson River School.

He used light and lively watercolor brushstrokes to depict the subtle changes in color in the rose field. Critics praised him, saying that Van Gogh's works were painted with Dutch mud, dust, and mashed potatoes with skin on.

Gu Weijing believes this is a heartfelt compliment.

My painting was created using water. The most captivating aspect of watercolor lies in its lightness and its semi-transparent yet opaque color texture.

Oil painting is like a cotton coat.

Watercolor is a thin veil.

Gu Weijing paints not only "water" on the canvas, but also "light".

He used subtle changes in light to try to recreate the subtle color variations of a rose field under sunlight on his canvas.

The first painting.

Gu Weijing carefully drew a rose, as clear and translucent as glass.

Rather than description.

Gu Weijing's dedication was more like carving on jade. To some extent, Gu Weijing even referenced the experience of "Zigang's Carving Method," not the legendary printmaking skills brought by the system, but rather the experience he had vaguely seen and felt when he acquired this skill—Lu Zigang's experience of carving, sculpting, and grinding jade day after day, year after year, in his cramped carving studio.

He carved, sculpted, and ground the flowers, allowing the rose petals to naturally unfurl on the canvas following the strokes of his watercolor brush.

"Perhaps, roses are not a very good subject for an art exhibition."

During the painting process.

Gu Weijing had once pondered this objective problem.

Impressionist oil paintings are beginning to seem slightly outdated for this era. Impressionism is a blurred intersection between classical and modern art. Just like the transformative 19th century, the long 19th century was a meeting point of two completely different ways of life.

Before the 19th century.

People still travel by horse-drawn carriage, and the lives of farmers in remote areas are not necessarily fundamentally different from those of people in the 17th, 16th, 9th, and 6th centuries AD.

After the nineteenth century.

Before long, human astronauts will have already reached the boundless space.

Solo exhibitions were a novelty in the 19th century, when most painters earned their living by painting portraits for clients. Today, solo exhibitions are almost an essential part of an artist's career.

Artistic concepts have also undergone tremendous changes in the past two hundred years.

The painting style that was once fashionable is no longer fashionable now. We've seen it too much and it's become tiresome.

But Impressionism has its own special status, just as the name Picasso has its own special significance in the art industry.

It may be old-fashioned, but it's classic in its old-fashionedness and stylish in its retro feel.

"Rose flowers are classic and stylish, aren't they?"

Gu Weijing muttered to himself.

He imagined Miss Elena standing beside him right now. What would she think? She would probably agree with his opinion.

"Yes, roses are classic and fashionable too—"

The agent would calmly reiterate her point of view, then add a sharp comment: "--In 18 AD, not 2018 AD, not even 1018 AD, but 0018. If you do the math, this place was around... the era of the Roman Empire."

"If you painted a watercolor rose for Caesar or Octavian, people would probably think you were quite fashionable, a little artist."

have a look?

Despite the long time that has passed and the mutual torment they have endured over the past year, Gu Weijing has still gained something.

Anyway, he can now imagine how to make sarcastic remarks like Anna Elena.

The problem with roses lies here.

Its imagery is too numerous and too rich.

It's become so abundant, so dazzling, that it borders on cliché. In this era, painting with common flowers is becoming increasingly outdated. Gu Weijing can't even remember which great painter has created a classic painting with roses as the sole theme.

Perhaps... Leonardo da Vinci made a related sketch?
That was four or five hundred years ago.

Or, to summarize using the phrase from "On the Love of Lotus," Tao Yuanming loved chrysanthemums alone, while since the Tang Dynasty, people have greatly loved peonies. Loving chrysanthemums and peonies is not particularly novel; one must find something to "love alone" to be considered uniquely fashionable.

Collectors' investments in artworks and critics' comments on artworks, to a certain extent, involve showcasing and flaunting their own unique and appealing qualities.

Gu Weijing pondered this question for a moment.

He then forgot about it again.

It doesn't matter.

Every person, every painter, presents their unique style in a different way.

Rembrandt's unique way of expressing himself may be due to his similarities to Rubens, the slightly rough texture of his paintings, or his use of the most precious mahogany imported from overseas trade as his canvas.

Van Gogh, on the other hand, used stars and the night sky, and a sunflower.

Actually.

Whether something is cliché or not, the most important thing is not external opinions, but self-expression.

Gu Weijing didn't paint roses; he painted a rhapsody of sunlight.

However, it was the second one.

Gu Weijing prepared two easels in the rented room. After finishing the first painting, he couldn't wait for the paint to dry completely, so he started painting the second painting on the watercolor easel next to him.

more specifically.

He then began to repaint the painting, depicting spiders spinning webs, cicadas shedding their shells, and art evolving and regenerating itself.

From the time Gu Weijing sketched his first draft of "Good Luck Orphanage Under the Sun" in the orphanage to the time he received a version of "Good Luck Orphanage Under the Sun" that he felt he could submit to the Biennale Organizing Committee, the process in between was all about doing this.

Over the past twelve months.

He has been doing the same thing all along.

The second painting presents itself on the paper as a bouquet of roses. The petals and leaves overlap, and the flower stems meander and intertwine, somewhat resembling Van Gogh's sunflowers.

The young painter in this painting no longer focuses on watercolor techniques or the pursuit of perfect, lustrous jade-like flowers, but rather on the overall visual experience.

This is an expression that goes beyond mere color play.

The third painting.

Gu Weijing moved the now-dry watercolors aside and began to try painting the endless flower fields...

(End of this chapter)