Reborn as a great painter, with a system, you can be willful

Binhai, No. 1 bus terminal, bus shelter.

A dozen passengers waiting for the bus are queuing up.

Jiang Zhe sat on a rest chair about ten meters away from the bus, observing the passengers waiting for the bus and the surrounding environment. From time to time, he lowered his head to draw the images that interested him in his sketchbook.

After signing the agreement with Baoli Auction Company, he no longer needed to worry about the follow-up matters. He and Professor Qin had several exchanges and basically determined the theme and content of the graduation work.

For this series of paintings, he plans to use bus station scenes to show the lives of contemporary coastal residents.

The terminus of bus line 1 was chosen as the reference scene because it is the oldest bus station in Binhai.

On the left side of the station, there are preserved two or three-story old buildings and old-style walls. Opposite the station, there is a small park and a 20-year-old stamp trading market.

With this station as the center, looking in the four directions of east, west, south and north, you can see traces of urban development from the beginning of the city to today, such as the earliest elementary school, cinema, department store and so on.

Of course, these scenes are just the background, what is more important is the characters.

Residents nearby include old residents who have lived here for decades, as well as new residents of the city and workers from factories who have not yet moved out.

When Jiang Zhe recorded these images, he thought about the near future, when some images will gradually disappear in the city, and he felt a sense of mission. Through his brush, he recorded the lives and daily behaviors of ordinary residents in the city. He did not want to create heroes, but to show the real state of residents in life.

This work is a graduation work. He hopes that every image and every detail comes from what he sees and hears in life. Every portrait is a real person drawn from life.

At this time, a bus slowly pulled into the station.

The passengers who were originally chatting while waiting for the bus were already prepared and took out their monthly passes or change.

"Swish..." A pneumatic sound was heard, the car stopped and the door opened.

The first passenger in line rushed onto the bus, threw his change into the coin slot, and then walked quickly to his desired seat.

The passengers at the back got on the bus one by one.

The bus driver reminds passengers to slow down or pay coins before getting on the bus.

In the distance, there were several people of different ages who saw the bus coming into the station and quickened their pace to run towards the station.

Jiang Zhe quickly recorded the passengers' movements, expressions and various details with a pencil.

The strokes are concise, striving to express the characteristics of different images.

When the last passenger got on the bus, the seats in the bus were almost full.

Jiang Zhe stood up and observed the expressions and movements of the passengers in the car through the car window.

Some of the passengers were waiting for the car to start, some were looking out the window, and some were chatting.

Among them, there were two middle-aged women chatting particularly loudly, and Jiang Zhe could vaguely hear their voices.

The driver saw Jiang Zhe standing up and thought he was getting on the bus, so he waited for a while. When he saw that Jiang Zhe didn't move and there were no passengers around the station, he closed the door and slowly started the car.

Jiang Zhe watched the vehicles passing by not far in front of him, trying hard to record the expressions of the passengers, analyzing their occupations, personalities, psychology... and then recording them in a sketchbook. After he had memorized all the images in his mind, he looked up at the station.

There was another passenger waiting for the train at the station.

Jiang Zhe looked through today's sketches.

He has been sketching here for two hours, recording many images. After finishing a part of the sketch, when there is no good material for the time being, he will organize the sketch or create a simple work.

In the process of enriching and supplementing the images, he made collages, combining the sketches he made, trying to integrate people of different professions and different events into one scene, so that many moments can be integrated into one picture.

Because there are so many characters, it is also necessary to match elements such as people, objects, and light sources.

These organizing processes will be reflected in the final creation.

It was evening when Jiang Zhe looked through his sketchbook. Three hours of sketching had used up almost half of the book.

Today I collected some interesting or distinctive images, and the trip was worthwhile.

He put away his sketchbook and quickly got on a bus.

In the following days, Jiang Zhe collected more and more materials through continuous sketching. He estimated that it was enough to enrich his creation.

Because of the postgraduate entrance examination, he had to put his creation on hold.

Coastal Academy of Arts.

Jiang Zhe pushed open the door of Teacher Hu's office.

When Teacher Hu saw that it was Jiang Zhe who came, he took out a list from the folder and handed it to Jiang Zhe.

"Fill in the time yourself, and then take it to the Academic Affairs Office for stamping."

While filling in the information, Jiang Zhe reported to Teacher Hu and prepared to go abroad for two re-examinations.

"You have applied to several schools for graduate studies. Do you not need to take the re-examination?" asked Teacher Hu.

"It's no longer necessary. They told me to wait for news."

Teacher Hu smiled and said, "It seems that those schools have a high chance of passing. Congratulations. If you have good news, please tell me as soon as possible."

Jiang Zhe quickly filled out the form, checked it once, and handed it to Teacher Hu.

Teacher Hu checked it and signed his name.

"Several people in your class have already gone to take the re-examination. Others are also going to take the recruitment interview. I hope you can all get good results." Teacher Hu talked about his experience in taking the postgraduate entrance examination.

Jiang Zhe expressed his gratitude for the teacher's concern.

He took the evaluation form to the Academic Affairs Office to get it stamped, and finally said goodbye to Professor Qin.

Professor Qin understands the students' difficulties. "Your creative project has been approved. When you come back, hurry up and finish it."

Jiang Zhe’s first stop was Paris and his second stop was New York.

He tried his best to arrange his time reasonably, hoping to complete the re-examinations of the two schools in the shortest time possible.

Two weeks later, Jiang Zhe completed the re-examination at Columbia University in New York.

He said goodbye to Professor Kerry and others and left the campus alone.

There was a knock on Professor Kerry's office door, and a man with a Mediterranean hairstyle walked into the professor's office. He asked Kerry directly, "Do you think Jiang Zhe will come to study for a master's degree?"

Professor Kerry brought a cup of coffee and placed it in front of the man. "We have listed the best conditions for him. I think he will choose it."

The man smelled the aroma of coffee and said slowly: "It seems that you are not sure either."

"I can't influence his choice." Professor Kerry said, "You seem to want him to come to study?"

"Yes, I hope he will come here to study for a doctorate, and I will be his mentor." The man raised his eyes and looked at Kerry.

"why?"

"Don't you think highly of him too?" the man asked.

"I do think highly of him, but I don't have to choose him. Can you tell me why you think highly of him?" Kerry said.

"There are many reasons. First, he has excellent ability and potential. I have to thank you for your introduction. I have seen many of his works. It can be seen that he has learned from many famous artists and has the ability to distinguish and integrate them. He is beginning to find a unique artistic style.

This should be a style that combines the essence of European classical masters with modernism.

His vision, his creativity, and his ability to handle complex subjects and images may reach the top level of contemporary art in the future.

Even now, without good professional guidance, he can still express what is in his mind. The richness and brilliance of his paintings are no less than those of the large historical paintings in ancient times.”

"Since you think so highly of him, I think you need to meet him. Maybe you can change his mind through conversation." Kerry suggested. "I can help you arrange a meeting with him."

The man thought for a moment and said, "Okay, please arrange for us to meet as soon as possible."

Jiang Zhe, who was shopping, received a call from Professor Kerry.

The two separated, and less than an hour later, I don't know what happened.

After the call was connected, Professor Kerry asked Jiang Zhe when he planned to return to China, and then said that he wanted to introduce him to a friend who teaches at Columbia University.

Jiang Zhe felt that Professor Kerry would not do anything meaningless, so he agreed to meet him tomorrow.

The next day, Jiang Zhe met Professor Kerry and a professor named George who was introduced to him by Professor Kerry in a quiet cafe near Columbia University.

The professor is well-known for his research in art history and art criticism. He is 54 years old and is already a doctoral supervisor.

George said that he had seen Jiang Zhe's work and wanted to meet him.

The three of them drank coffee and chatted, starting with the art they were interested in. Michelangelo's frescoes, the treasures of the Louvre, Rubens' complex political allegories and religious paintings, etc.

During the conversation, George directly pointed out that Jiang Zhe's oil paintings, especially the artistic language used to depict characters, clearly inherited the style of the Venetian Renaissance painter Tintoretto.

"Guess which of your works I like best?"

Jiang Zhe shook his head.

George said, “I’ve seen your paintings and watercolors. I’ve also seen your sculptures in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I have summarized the works I gave you into several categories.

The first category is to imitate other people's styles, such as Italian style and European classical style.

The second category is the aesthetic style. You have painted some portraits that combine the advantages of classical and impressionist paintings.

The third category is realism. I am most optimistic about the realistic works you depict.

Of course, I am not saying that your other works are bad, but I think that you can play to your strengths by developing in this direction.”

When Jiang Zhe heard that the professor's views were consistent with Professor Qin's, he humbly asked for advice.

I have studied the development of realism.

Simply put, all current realism inherits the French realism art of the mid-19th century, which is the artistic style pioneered by Courbet, Daumier and Millet.

The basic definition is to depict real-life scenes as seen by the eyes, without being distorted by personal prejudices, and to oppose exaggerated emotionalism, so that the works have more objective authenticity.

But after entering the 20th century, different realisms evolved due to different national backgrounds.

For example, Soviet realism is based on the theme of mass labor life. However, this kind of realism contains a lot of poetic imagination of mass life and is therefore more like idealism. Although the visual effect of Soviet realism is quite realistic, the social life content it conveys has more beautification, modification and exaggerated imagination. Although American and European realism are often distorted in character modeling or picture form, their standpoint, attitude and vision in observing life can use a critical perspective, especially committed to exposing social injustice and the dark side, so the social life content they depict is relatively more realistic.

These developments each have their advantages and problems.

I have always believed that realistic art is one of the mainstream forms of human art. It may flourish and decline due to certain changes in external conditions, but it will never become obsolete, disappear or perish. Because life is always changing, art that expresses real life will inevitably change with it. This is its internal driving force for continuous renewal and growth.

No matter what kind of realism, as long as it can depict real-life themes based on an objective standpoint, it will not lose its aesthetic and sociological value, because real life is always the endless source of artistic creation. Although artists have different positions and attitudes when depicting life phenomena, whether criticizing or praising, they are actually affirming the value of social life as the foundation of art in different ways.

This technique can easily express objective life content, which is also the unchangeable essence of realistic art.

Another important point is that you are good at vivid and realistic techniques. You have the potential to surpass your predecessors in this regard. "

George suddenly changed the subject at the same time: "Jiang Zhe, do you think what I said makes sense? What are your expectations for studying for a master's degree?"

Jiang Zhe thought that George's analysis made sense, but it was not necessarily correct. He had answered the questions in the postgraduate entrance examination countless times, so he used a formulaic answer.

Professor George shook his head and said, "These answers are too general. Do you want to hear my advice?"

"I'm really looking forward to it." Jiang Zhe still looked like he was humbly seeking advice.

"I am engaged in art history research and art criticism. Based on my many years of experience, I believe that with your current artistic level, no matter where you go to study for a master's degree, few people can give you guidance on artistic techniques. You should also have this feeling.

It is difficult for others to teach you how to improve your skills or understanding of painting; it depends more on your own perception.

Your supervisor at the graduate level will give you some directional guidance.

In my opinion, what you need now is not the learning you received during your student days, but to establish your own artistic language and expression style, which is a deviation from past concepts and forms and a creation.

You need criticism and suggestions on creative direction.

So, I hope you can come to Columbia University for graduate studies, and even in the future, for a doctorate.

I think this place can create the most relaxed environment for you, with the best market, the most abundant learning materials, and the most professional guidance. "

Jiang Zhe admired the other party's erudition, but did not agree directly. He only said that he also looked forward to receiving more guidance from the other party.

(End of this chapter)