In the quiet courtyard,
Gu Weijing solidified a small candle with wax oil on the top of the drawing board, and under the trembling candlelight, his brushes flew like flies.
This new sketch is done very smoothly.
He hardly needs to spend any time thinking about using a pen, nor does he need to expend any energy on composition. Even the photos on his mobile phone only require an occasional glance up.
Little girl Jasmine's happy expression bloomed quietly in Gu Weijing's heart.
Almost naturally, when he finished the last line on the skirt, the relevant data of the painting appeared in front of him.
[Title of work: "Twirling Girl in Blue Dress"]
[Sketch Technique: Professional Painter·First Level (607/5000)]
[Emotion: Feeling something in my heart]
This is the first time Gu Weijing has been so devoted to painting a painting.
It didn't take long, but there was already a layer of light sweat on my nose.
[Your current task has been completed, please claim your reward. 】——As his painting was completed, the system's beep sounded in time.
Gu Weijing opened the virtual panel and clicked to receive the reward.
[The ultimate reward of the chain mission: a random legendary skill]
The extraction of legendary skills is different from any previous rewards.
The system did not issue rewards directly, but instead displayed a silver book on the virtual panel.
The pages of the book move automatically without wind,
Each page is engraved with attractive rewards, and then turned over in the next moment, filled with new content.
Just a few casual glances made Gu Weijing's breathing quicken.
[Tang·Wu Daozi - "Eighty-seven Immortals" painting experience (legendary level)], [Georges Seurat (French pointillist master) pointillism skills (legendary level)], [Jean Jacques· The ghost fragment of Rousseau's "Naïve" (legendary level)]...
The names that appear in the reward column are all great artists who shocked the world, and are even cultural symbols of a certain country.
The pages of the book have been turning rapidly, like a silent invitation.
Gu Weijing stretched out his hand and put it on the skill book.
The page automatically stopped after his hand touched it, and a silver page fell from it.
[Miscellaneous·Baixi Tree (Legendary Level)]
The book pages turned into a silver skill tree on the system panel.
[Miscellaneous · Baiyi Tree: Provides various (legendary level) daily painting skills that painters need to master. Every 1000 free experience points can water the small tree once. Each time you water the Baiyi Tree, there is a probability that the small tree will grow new ones. branch]
Gu Weijing's eyes fell on the Baiyi tree.
There is currently only one branch and leaf on the sapling, which looks quite bare and pitiful.
Gu Weijing saw a text description on the branch and leaf. This time there was no name of a certain master, but an independent painting method.
[Knife painting method]
[Special Effects: You will master the art of drawing with a knife. 】
[Introduction to painting methods: The oil painting knife has completely different expressive power and strokes than the paint brush. It is always a good helper for the painter when expressing thick and layered light and shadow. 】
[Remarks: Light fragrance and strong fragrance are always suitable for “wiping on”. 】
"Knife painting?"
A lot of knowledge about knife painting quickly flooded into Gu Weijing's mind.
Although the drawing knife is called a knife, it is actually more like a small shovel.
The palette knife is used to mix paint, and the oil painting knife is used to clean and remove excess colors on the painting, acting like an eraser.
but,
Under certain conditions that deal with special color relationships, the painting knife can also be used to apply paint for painting.
The paint knife squeezes the paint onto the surface of the painting, creating a series of smooth volumes that form unique curved edges like ridges or lines where the knife touches, intersects, and ends.
The paint knife's ability to spread and stack oil paint cannot be matched by a soft paintbrush.
This is a very versatile and expressive way of painting.
Open and close.
In general schools, there is basically no emphasis on teaching how to draw a knife.
A middle school art student would be considered good if he could use a drawing knife as an oil painting eraser. If it can bring out some of the characteristics of the oil painting knife in the painting style, it will definitely be considered excellent.
Even if you have never heard of drawing knife painting, it is normal.
A hard metal painting knife is far more difficult to control than a lightweight oil paint brush. Its advantages are the ability to shape and enrich colors, and the knife touch is steady and the shape is clear.
The disadvantage is that it is difficult to control and accurately depict.
Not to mention art students, there are only a few artists in the entire world art circle who are proficient in knife painting.
Even if you are willing to make knife painting independent of traditional oil painting and become a small category such as inkjet painting and chalk painting, it is not impossible.
By analogy with old-school Hong Kong martial arts and kung fu films, artists who specialize in drawing swords are a bit like masters of unpopular weapons such as judge pens and nine-section whips.
There are basically no top artists, but the performance of the pictures is very distinctive.
However, even though it is a bit niche, Gu Weijing does not dislike this skill.
For painters, there are no popular or unpopular skills, only common and uncommon skills.
The oil painting knife is the most commonly used tool when painting oil paintings, second only to the brush.
After Gu Weijing realized it carefully, he opened his eyes.
It is truly a legendary skill, and the experience it brings is so rich and real.
The thin and narrow long blade is suitable for drawing out long and thin colors; the small pear-shaped drawing knife is paired with a soft forged steel blade to draw out colors that are elastic and rippled, like a thick layer of cream ;A straight blade combined with paint mixed with thick sawdust can create a beautiful flaky texture...
Countless painting ideas appeared in Gu Weijing's mind. He even thought for a moment that he knew more about oil painting knives than the paintbrushes he had held for more than ten years.
Even without the blessing of a well-known master, this skill is not time-limited like Menzel's painting experience. It is more like a knowledge card that is instilled in one's mind.
Even if you don’t specifically use a drawing knife to paint alone, it is still a good tool to use as an auxiliary tool for occasionally handling special colors when painting.
Gu Weijing wanted to simply try out the effect of this skill.
He looked up at the moon looming among the clouds in the sky.
I have an idea in my mind.
Gu Weijing took out a painting knife, white paint, and a small piece of stretched dark canvas.
He just took the painting knife and touched it casually on the canvas.
There is an extra stain on the dark painting that looks like it was printed with a silver dollar soaked in paint. It is hard to figure out, hazy and moist.
Just like the moonlight in the sky.
…
"Xiao Gu, wait a moment."
Just when Gu Weijing packed up his things, stored his painting tools, and was about to book a ride home on his mobile phone, the concierge stopped him.
"Uncle Alai, is something wrong?"
Gu Weijing turned his head and looked.
It was the caretaker of the orphanage, a lame Burmese named Alai.
When others see Alai for the first time, they are a bit reminded of the famous bell ringer Quasimodo in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".
Myanmar is jokingly called the country of dwarfs by some Europeans. The average height of local men here is not very high, only about 1.6 meters. Even many local girls are taller than the men.
But Uncle Alai is very tall,
Nearly 1.9 meters tall, with thick limbs and dark skin, he looks a bit like a little giant.
To be honest, the janitor's facial features are not ugly, but his face has been injured. The skin on one side has scars from being burned by high temperatures. His left foot is also a little disabled. The left hand is missing the little finger and a section of the ring finger.
These scars must not be left in normal life.
It is said that he was once an officer in the Myanmar Army, and some said he was an anti-narcotics policeman in Yangon. It is said that he was even published in the newspapers as a national hero.
It's a pity that he was kicked out of the military in disgrace in the end.
Some people say that he was a drug trafficker setting up a trap for revenge, while others say that he was involved in a factional struggle between warlords and high-level government officials. It seems that to this day, there are still some old comrades in the army who are complaining about his experience.
In Myanmar, the society is in turmoil, the political situation is turbulent, and anything can happen.
Considering that the address of the Lucky Orphanage was given to me by a former officer from the VIP protection team, this statement probably has some credibility.
However, Gu Weijing had no intention of delving into his past.
Various aspects of life in the welfare home.
As Gu Weijing visited the Lucky Orphanage more and more often, he discovered that it was really a melting pot of society. Whether it was the children or the volunteers, many people here had their own stories.
There are gay couples who come to adopt orphans, young students from the Department of Sociology at Yangon University, an old aunt whose son died in a nearby factory accident, a beautiful sister who usually works as an escort girl but feels uneasy, and some who believe in Japan. Believers who do good deeds...
Compared with these people, Uncle Alai's hint of recklessness as a down-and-out hero is not very eye-catching.
Moreover, after contacting the other party, Gu Weijing found that the janitor Alai was not as fierce on the inside as he looked on the outside. Instead, he was a very gentle middle-aged man, but a little taciturn.
I rarely hear him speak on weekdays, and I don't know what happened when he suddenly called me.
"Thank you for what happened today. I have rarely seen her so happy."
"Jasmine?"
Gu Weijing was stunned for a moment before he realized what Uncle Alai was talking about.
"My sister."
"Jasmine is an orphan, right?"
In theory, all the children in the Good Luck Orphanage are orphans and should not have living elders or guardians.
"My sister."
Alai emphasized his tone.
Gu Weijing stopped talking, just thinking that every family has a scripture that is difficult to recite.
"It's okay. Jasmine is no different from a normal child. I also gained a lot from playing with her today."
Gu Weijing raised the drawing in his hand.
"It's different." Uncle Alai shook his head and repeated seriously: "It's different."
"I heard you've been looking for historical information about this orphanage?"
Gu Weijing nodded.
He and Katsuko Sakai have already started writing their thesis.
The point of the article itself is not complicated, and the core content can be summarized in one sentence - "Exception! Big discovery! We have discovered an unknown early Impressionist female painter who is good at dark art styles."
But the paper obviously cannot be written like this.
The experienced Professor Sakai spent several days thinking and packaging, and also studied the style and direction preferred by several reviewers of "Asian Art" before formulating the current title of the paper.
"The Female Artists Carol Forgotten by Time: The Color Entanglement and Visual Dimension of Dark Tone Impressionist Works"
It’s basically the same thing as the previous sentence.
But in the vernacular style, let alone aiming at top A&HCI publications like "Asian Art", it is very difficult to publish a ninth-rate paper.
The same content, after being packaged by Professor Sakai, suddenly seemed higher and higher, making readers feel unclear and powerful.
This is the art of English stereotypes.
The writing outline of the paper is mainly divided into two major aspects.
The first part determines the identity and creation time of the painting's owner, Carroll.
The second part is based on "The Old Church on a Thunderstorm" and compares and summarizes the handling and application of light and color when representative Impressionist painters such as Monet and Degas used dark pigments in history.
In fact, it’s not difficult to light the last part.
With Professor Sakai's guidance, even a simple summary of the style of existing Impressionist works can be written into a comprehensive review paper.
But this kind of paper is relatively watery.
Anyone can write whatever they want as long as they are professors who know a lot about art.
Therefore, these contents can only be used as flesh and blood to fill the skeleton, so that the paper does not look thin.
The real selling point should be the mysterious female painter Carroll and "The Old Church on a Thunderstorm Day".
Gu Weijing has been collecting information about Carroll during this time.
There were too many foreigners in Myanmar in the 19th century, and there were no official passport records or anything like that, so it was difficult to find clues.
His focus was on the building of Good Luck Orphanage.
Gu Weijing has almost confirmed that the church in "The Old Church on a Thunderstorm" is the Good Luck Orphanage.
He asked the abbess to find old photos of the time when howitzers destroyed the statue of Our Lady in the church during the Anglo-Burmese War.
The photo was taken in 1890.
Therefore, it is basically certain that this painting was created before 1890.
But more powerful evidence could not be found.
This painting was painted in 1890, 1880, or 1875. Basically, every time you push forward ten years, or even five years forward, the value of the paper is different.
Gu Weijing was not a god either. Finding this precious painting was largely due to luck. Apart from old photos, he couldn't find any more valuable information.
At this time, I heard Uncle Alai mention this matter,
Gu Weijing was a little confused.
"Is there anything you want to tell me?"
"I remember that there were some documents kept on oil paper in the iron cabinet with the church logo in the underground storage room. The dean didn't understand English and didn't pay attention. I went to look through it in the afternoon. It should be the church-related sermon logs and charity donation records. I thought it might be useful to you. I found it while playing with Jasmine."
Uncle Alai took out a wooden box from the drawer of the concierge's cabin.
Gu Weijing took it and took a look, and his spirits suddenly lifted.
He recognized what it was—
This is a sermon log left by a church!
The church in the West is like a small government.
For a long time, it did function as a government. The church has its own legal system and functional departments, and naturally things like work reports are indispensable.
The archives left by missionaries have always been good historical data.
If the female painter Carroll had been a believer in the parish here, or had donated money to this orphanage, then she would probably have left her name.
"Thank you so much..." Gu Weijing didn't know what to say.
"No need to thank me, just play with Jasmine more when you have time. She likes you very much."
Uncle Alai waved his hand, not taking away a single cloud.
Sorry, I have something to do tonight, so I only have four thousand.
(End of chapter)
