He unexpectedly becomes a father at the start of his life, and the mother of his child is a national

Chen Hao put down his paintbrush and let out a long sigh of relief.

I was so engrossed in drawing that I only realized my arms were a little sore when I stopped.

He stretched his wrists and looked at the newly completed "Lotus and Fish in Leisure" painting, feeling quite satisfied.

This master-level painting skill is truly impressive.

His current control over the ink is like a kind of connection between his hand and the brush; he can make the ink as thick or thin as he wants, as dry or wet as he wants.

When painting lotus leaves, he used the splashed ink technique. He dipped a large brush in ink, then turned his wrist, and the ink naturally spread on the rice paper. The fuzzy feeling at the edges was particularly charming.

When painting lotus flowers, I switched to a finer brush, gently outlining the petals and adding a touch of light pink to the tips, thus capturing the feeling of a bud about to bloom.

The fish were my proudest possessions.

He didn't draw the whole thing; he only drew the shadows of the fish's back and tail below the water's surface, leaving the rest of the body for the viewer to imagine.

This use of negative space is particularly interesting; it makes the fish seem to be moving, as if it might swim away at any moment.

"Daddy's drawing is so beautiful!" Sisi was the first to run over, her little slippers making a clattering sound on the floor.

She clung to the edge of the easel, standing on tiptoe, her little head tilted high, her eyes wide and round.

Chen Hao laughed and picked her up so she could see her more clearly: "What's so beautiful about it?"

"Here, here, and here!" Sisi's little fingers tapped around on the drawing, almost touching the still-wet ink.

"This flower is beautiful, these leaves are beautiful, and the fish is the most beautiful of all!"

"Be careful, the ink isn't dry yet." Chen Hao quickly and gently took her hand.

"You'll get your hands all black later."

Lin Caiwei also came over.

She didn't say anything, just stood in front of the painting and looked at it quietly.

She didn't really understand painting; she knew nothing about terms like "texturing strokes," "dotting," or "accumulating ink," but she knew what beauty was.

The painting gave her a particularly comfortable feeling; as she looked at it, all the random thoughts in her mind seemed to slowly settle down.

The lotus leaves spread out so freely, and the lotus flowers weren't fully open, only half open, giving off a shy feeling.

The fish are painted the best. You can't see their full appearance, but you can still feel them swimming and playing, and they seem very alive.

The distant mountains are depicted with just a few faint strokes, appearing hazy and indistinct, while the nearby water is rippled gently with a few light touches.

The whole painting exudes a refreshing coolness, as if you can really smell the scent of a lotus pond in summer—the moisture mixed with the fragrance of lotus leaves.

"That's really amazing." Lin Caiwei watched for a while before turning to Chen Hao and saying.

She genuinely felt that way. "I don't know anything about painting, but looking at it makes me feel... especially calm and comfortable. It's beautiful."

Chen Hao put Sisi down and walked to the bucket of water next to him to rinse his pen.

A few brushes were stirred in the clear water, and the ink spread out like smoke.

"Just doodles," he said, shaking the water off his pen. "Just for fun, to pass the time."

"If you're just drawing randomly, then professional painters won't have anything to eat," Lin Caiwei shook her head.

She understands Chen Hao less and less now.

This person is like a bottomless pit; you never know how much skill he has hidden.

She cooks incredibly well, is amazing at taking care of kids, and now she's also a fantastic artist.

And it's not at the amateur level, it's at a truly professional level.

Chen Hao wiped his hands and looked at Sisi.

The little guy was still lying by the easel, pointing at the fish in the painting with his little finger, muttering to himself:

"This fish is the biggest, it's the father... This one is a little smaller, it's the mother... This one is the smallest, it's the baby fish..."

Chen Hao suddenly had a thought.

"Sisi," he called out, "how about Daddy draws a portrait of you?"

Sisi immediately turned her head, her eyes shining as if they were filled with stars:

"Really? Daddy's going to draw a picture for Sisi? Draw Sisi?" She asked three times in a row, her little face full of surprise.

"Mm." Chen Hao nodded, a smile playing on his lips.

"Just draw what you look like now, wearing this outfit, with this little braid."

"Okay, okay!" Sisi jumped up and down excitedly, then turned around and grabbed Lin Caiwei's hand.

"Mommy, did you hear that? Daddy's going to draw a picture of Sisi! Draw Sisi!"

Lin Caiwei also became interested: "You want to paint Sisi? In the traditional Chinese style or...?"

"Let's paint an oil painting," Chen Hao said after thinking for a moment.

"Oil painting is more suitable for painting portraits. It has rich colors, many layers, and can better capture expressions."

As he spoke, he walked to a cabinet in the other corner of the studio.

The cabinet is quite full of things, including all kinds of art supplies.

He rummaged around for a while and then took out a set of oil painting tools—

A stretched canvas frame, a box of oil paints, a wooden palette, and five or six oil paintbrushes of different sizes.

Lin Caiwei watched him skillfully prepare the things, and was surprised again.

Oil painting and traditional Chinese painting are completely different things; the tools, materials, and techniques are all different.

Judging from Chen Hao's posture, this was clearly not his first time painting in oil.

Chen Hao fixed the canvas frame to the easel, which was a bit larger than the one used for the traditional Chinese painting.

Then open the paint box and squeeze out several basic colors onto the palette: titanium white, ivory black, cadmium red, cadmium yellow, ultramarine, and emerald green.

When these colors are squeezed out, they look like small, colorful tubes of toothpaste, which looks quite novel.

"Sisi, come sit here." Chen Hao waved and pointed to the sofa.

Sisi immediately rushed over like a cannonball and sat down on the sofa as Chen Hao instructed.

She sat up straight, her little hands on her knees, with a serious expression.

"Don't be so nervous," Chen Hao smiled. "Relax, just sit like you normally would."

He walked over and slightly adjusted Sisi's posture: "Turn your head a little to this side... Yes, like that."

"Look straight ahead, yes, look at Daddy." He then pulled the curtains open a little more, letting natural light shine in from the side, which fell right on Sisi's face.

In this photo, the contours of her small face are more defined, with a small shadow next to her nose and her cheeks shining.

"Dad, how long are we going to sit here?" Sisi asked, her body still tense.

"Soon," Chen Hao said with a smile. "If you get tired, just say so, and we'll rest for a while before continuing to draw."

"Sisi isn't tired!" the little one immediately declared, but as soon as she finished speaking, she couldn't help but move her shoulders.

Chen Hao returned to his easel and picked up a charcoal pencil.

This pen is like a pencil, but it's black, and it's easy to erase or cover up when drawn on canvas.

He first squinted at Sisi, roughly sketched the composition in his mind, and then began to draft on the canvas.

He drew very lightly, first drawing an oval to indicate the position of the head, then drawing a vertical line in the middle to define the center line of the face, and then drawing a horizontal line to define the position of the eyes.

Next comes the shoulder line, and the general shape of the body.

With a few strokes, Sisi's outline emerged.