Almighty painter

Chapter 241 Gu Tongxiang's Spring
"Let's try it now?"

Gu Weijing thought for a moment.

At this time, his mind is full of all kinds of cute cats and dogs, and it is a pity not to draw something to see the effect.

Gu Weijing found a piece of watercolor paper from his hand, stuck it to a cabinet beside him with a magnet, and picked up a soft charcoal stick.

Even though he does not lack professional knowledge of zoology now.

draw a cat draw a dog,

Better yet, get a model too.

"model?"

There should be a Chinese raccoon cat used to catch mice in the yard in the old man Wu Wenwan's bracelet shop.

But that cat was a bit aggressive, so it wasn't easy to get close to.

Gu Weijing was scratched by it before, so he went to get a special vaccination.

never mind!

Or find it online.

Gu Weijing opened YouTube and searched for the keyword "cute cat". He simply chose a video called "Animism" uploaded by a UP master.

This is a cloud cat video with more than 500 million views and tens of thousands of comments.

"It's so hot, let's do it."

Gu Weijing started playing.

On the screen of the mobile phone, a child in preschool hugged a black and white shorthair cat and teased it.

Cats are not a particularly expensive breed.

But the plump one has black and white variegated hair, like a little cow.

No kidding, it's really cute!

Gu Weijing sniffed his nose twice, and then concentrated on watching the short-haired cat playing with its little master.

"It's really different!"

He was surprised to find that he could not only imagine the coordination of the bones and muscles hidden under the skin behind every movement of the short-haired cat.

Gu Weijing can still clearly distinguish the excitement, anxiety, or impatience expressed by the short cat's hair through the other person's body posture.

"Pet Mind Reading, the name is not just a gimmick."

Same as Station B,
There are also time stamps left by various netizens in the comment area of ​​Youtube, which are used to mark the best clips in the videos in their hearts.

Gu Weijing flipped through the comment area and chose a coordinate point left by his brother at 2:06 seconds in the video.

His accompanying comment is "Unbelievable! She's just too cute!"

There are still 603 replies in this comment area.

Responses came from all over the world, in all regions, and in all languages.Some comments Gu Weijing couldn't understand at all.

but it does not matter.

Turn two pages and you will know that the overall meaning of these [-]-layer replies can be accurately summed up in four words - "Awei is dead".

Gu Weijing locked the progress bar at these few seconds and watched it repeatedly.

In the footage of the video, it happens that the short-haired cat hits a small ball of catnip with the tip of its nose, and rolls happily on the dining cabinet, all the way from the dining cabinet to the floor tiles.

No wonder the girlish hearts of netizens can't stand it.

Really cute!

Gu Weijing played the video at a slow speed, so that the screen of the phone stopped at the frame where the cat was tumbling in mid-air.

He tilted his head and held the charcoal between the tips of his thumb and forefinger.

Gu Weijing hung his wrist in the air, trying to draw the outline of the cat at this moment on the watercolor paper.

When Maomi rolled over, the muscles and bones of his whole body were twisting like noodles, like a big elastic gluten.

It is also difficult for the camera of the mobile phone to record the posture of this high-speed falling body.

All kinds of afterimages are blurred together, and I can barely see the general idea.

For Gu Weijing now, this is enough.

In his mind, he knew Maomi's movement posture too well.

Gu Weijing knows that a simple tumbling to the ground can be divided into five complete steps in terms of body muscle and bone movement in the professional field of biology.

Body preparation, twists, throws, weight shifts and landings.

Gu Weijing used a charcoal pencil to draw a twisted curve with wonderful elasticity on the absorbent surface of the paper.

This is the state of the spine of the British Shorthair cat in this frame of the mobile phone screen.

The cat squinted in mid-air, and its posture was between the shift of the center of gravity and the landing on the ground.

It is pushing the body to roll sideways through the twisting of the spine and limbs, using the flexibility and coordination of the body to control the balancing action.

"Mao Mi's neck muscles are highly developed, and the head and body rotate in coordination when rolling. The rectus abdominus muscles contract into a ball. Short-haired cats have specialized spinal rotator muscles to twist the body, and the tail is an important balance auxiliary organ..."

If a professional veterinarian heard him talking to himself, he would definitely marvel at the amazing accuracy of this young man's understanding of Maomi's body.

In his heart, Gu Weijing divided the short-tailed cat's activity of less than 0.1 second into countless muscle details.

Gu Weijing did not draw every detail of Maomi's muscle and fur texture. He has this knowledge reserve, but it is unnecessary to practice drawing so accurately.

Mainly the spirit.

"Brush brush..."

With just a few brush strokes on the watercolor paper, he used simple lines to capture the relationship between the whole body of the cat on the paper.

The painting method is not complicated.

The massive information in the knowledge cards has endowed these lines with a natural soul.

The black and white stick figure composed only of charcoal lines in less than a minute is much more vivid than the head portrait he had worked so hard to draw before.

Cao Lao said that the three elements of an excellent work are knowledge, skill and emotion.

The stronger sketching skills and knowledge of zoology complement each other, and the sketch illustrations of the two cats in the front and back have undergone earth-shaking changes immediately.

on watercolor paper,

The appearance of the little cow cat dexterously rolling its teeth and claws in the air like a boneless liquid is perfectly expressed by these lines.

Gu Weijing put down his paintbrush and took a few steps back.

He looked at the phone screen, then at the watercolor paper pasted on the painting cabinet.

Gu Weijing felt that his heart was about to be melted by the cuteness!

"what?"

At this time, Mr. Gu Tongxiang pushed open the door of the small studio and walked in.

He was about to say something else, and glanced casually at his grandson's charcoal drawing, then couldn't help but glance again.

The old man is the kind of person who never has any love for small animals.

The old people who came from the war-torn era, when they were young, they couldn’t eat enough, so how can there be any extra love to share with cats and dogs?

In addition, Gu Tongxiang is a little allergic to pet hair, which can easily cause rhinitis.

Just like his own grandson, when Gu Tongxiang went to old man Wu to play chess, he wanted to grab his tail, but was also slapped in the face by the violent little tiger-like raccoon cat in Wu old man's yard.

Since then, he has completely lost his affection for pets.

Walking on the street, if you meet a stray dog, don't kick your feet.

For someone like Mr. Gu who has no feelings for companion pets, it is rare for him to find the stick figures drawn by his grandson on the wall so cute.

Gu Tongxiang is interested in drawing horses, but the remaining cats and dogs have never been drawn, and he doesn't know much about them.

He just instinctively felt that the stick figures of his grandson Gu Weijing had completely attracted his interest.

In the depths of the human soul, men, women and children all have similar love for cute things, it just depends on whether you can capture the moment when they are so cute to you.

An excellent painter can preserve this short moment on paper forever.

These lines are much cuter than the uneducated raccoon cat in Old Man Wu's house!

The old man turned this thought in his mind.

"It was just inconvenient before, but if you really want to keep a pet, you definitely can't do it." Mr. Gu hesitated for a moment, rubbed his chin and said.

Gu Weijing put down his brush.

He gave his grandfather a strange look, not believing that this was what his grandfather said.

Gu Tongxiang is a typical oriental parent.

He will give his grandson everything that is good, but he still treats his most valued grandson with style.

What is not allowed is what is not allowed.

Gu Weijing knew that Gu Tongxiang didn't like cats and dogs, so he changed his tune suddenly.

Is a stick figure of my own so powerful?
"Forget it, I'm going to college soon, and I don't have time to raise pets by myself."

Gu Weijing shook his head and asked directly, "Grandpa, do you have something to tell me?"

"For the scriptures. There is something, but you don't have to consider my opinion. You need to take this idea..."

Seeing Gu Weijing's strange expression, Gu Tongxiang blushed slightly.

He scratched his head in embarrassment, and said hesitantly: "That...that..."

"Grandpa, you'd better just say it straight."

It was rare for grandpa to show such an expression in front of him, and Gu Weijing was even more confused.

While placing the copied easel against the corner to dry in the shade, and putting away the watercolor paper, he asked softly, "What happened?"

"Forget it, let's come out and talk in the living room."

Mr. Gu babbled there for a long time without saying anything.

He simply opened the door of the studio and walked to the small living room at home.

Hanks, the manager of Mashi Gallery, did not leave either. The blond man sat at the table with a mysterious smile on his face, looking at the grandpa and grandson who came over.

"Mr. Ma Shi, you can directly give the suggestion to Wei Jing."

"Is there something wrong with the contract? Isn't it well signed?" Gu Weijing looked at the manager at the side with a questioning look.

"That's right, Mr. Gu. There is nothing wrong with the contract between us, but I hope to sign another agency contract to represent Mr. Gu, that is, the calligraphy and painting works of your grandfather Gu Tongxiang."

Hanks points to Gu Tongxiang with a tense face to one side with his palm.

"The old man said he wanted to ask for your opinion."

Mr. Mashi III received his text message, but this time he did not call in person to respond to Hanks' report.

But Hanks received a work email from Ma Shi III's secretary about ten minutes later, asking him to—[Continue to have a good relationship with Gu Weijing. 】

Listen to what it means.

Hanks judged with a high probability that the big boss did not show any impatience for disturbing the other party on the grounds that "a young artist who has just signed a contract showed excellent skills when copying paintings".

On the contrary, even seeing such inconspicuous little news, I am quite satisfied.

The head of any large gallery in the world has a list full of names of famous painters in the art circle.

The names on the list are divided into gradients of different importance according to the gallerists' judgments and estimates of the artists' current and future market conditions.

Usually, the total sales must be at least 300 million U.S. dollars, and artists who are only one or two levels away from Professor Sakai at most can enjoy the personal attention and treatment of Ma Shi III.

There are no more than 150 such people in the entire art world.

There are no more than the number of hands in the Marsh Gallery.

This means that in the heart of the art giant Ma Shi III, although Gu Weijing will officially join his gallery in a few months.

His current status is not weaker than those great painters with millions of sales.

"This is very interesting."

As he finished reading the email, Hanks licked his lips, trying to figure out the message in the Big Boss' strange attitude.

Of course Gu Weijing's paintings are good enough.

however,
Whether collectors are willing to pay for a work depends not only on whether the painting is valuable, but also on the story behind the canvas.

Whether the story behind the canvas is good or not is even more important than whether the painting is good or not.

Gu Weijing's Impressionist work picked up from the calligraphy and painting market, the excellent technique completely surprised Hanks.

His estimate is no more than $10.

Some imitations painted by Picasso's disciples and students of Qi Baishi who were kicked out of the teacher's school can also be sold at this price.

Collectors have no chance to own an authentic Leonardo da Vinci, and if they have the chance, they will not be able to afford the transaction price of hundreds of millions of dollars.They can only buy other things related to "Da Vinci".

And the high-quality paintings of those Da Vinci students that can be found in the literature can easily sell for hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.

So whether there is a story to hype, it really matters in the art world.

It's not that Hanks doesn't believe that this young man in Yangon will sell his works very expensive one day, it's just that there are too many variables in the art industry.

Gu Weijing is too young now, and he has never won any awards.

Hanks was very puzzled, why did Ma Shi III have such confidence in him?

The confusion in my heart is the confusion, Hanks' EQ is not low at all.

Since the owner of the gallery believes that this young man will make a lot of money for the gallery in the future, he, the hunter agent, must also firmly believe in this.

"Sign Gu Tongxiang."——This is how Hanks showed his confidence.

Brothers on the battlefield, father and son soldiers in battle.

The art society is a networked society, and the closest personal connections are apart from masters and apprentices and husband and wife.

The blood of father and son is also an important artistic bond.

You can say that you have taken a shortcut to artistic success in the name of your father, or you can say that a tiger father has no dogs.

No matter how the collectors want to interpret it, many of the great figures in the history of calligraphy and painting art were born in one litter.

Pisano and his son, the pioneers of the Renaissance, Bellini and his son of the Venetian School of Painting, three generations of grandparents of the German national treasure painter Holbein, of course, there are also Li Sixun and his son in the East, Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi...

One hundred and eighty pairs of such examples can be cited casually.

Because of their kinship, these painters have a high degree of similarity in their artistic concepts.

One person gets the way,
Chicken and dog ascend to heaven.

As long as there is one world-class great artist, it will be like a string of grasshoppers, raising the value of this string of artists.

After Hanks knew that Miss Sakai and Gu Weijing were a couple, he was so shocked.It is because if they really cultivate to a positive result.

A half son-in-law, Professor Sakai Kazunari and Gu Weijing can also be classified as such a "father-son combination" by the collectors.

The only downside is that the painting styles of Gu Weijing and Uncle Sakai are not in the same category, so they get much less light.

During this period of time, Hanks discovered that Gu Tongxiang and Gu Weijing's brushwork and painting style are very similar, and they are both Eastern and Western arts.

It's just like a "little Gu Wei Jing".

This sounds a bit strange.

But who made Hanks think that Gu Tongxiang's writing skills are slightly inferior to the current Gu Weijing?

Those who have achieved the artistic path are the first.

The son is more expensive according to the father, and the father is not without the son.

The auction house of old Holbein's works is so popular, purely because he has a son of one of the German version of "Three Heroes of the Renaissance", Holbein the Younger.

Just because the two of them are grandpa and grandson, the painting style and pen habits are very similar to this.

If one day Gu Weijing can really become a great artist who sells for millions of dollars.

Don't dare to say too much, just give a discount.

The grandson's painting sells for 100 million US dollars, and the grandfather's painting sells for [-] US dollars. No matter what, collectors will be willing to buy and speculate.

In this case, it would be a pity to still sell paintings in small places in Myanmar.

Hanks had had the idea of ​​signing this old guy before, and after receiving an email from the secretary of Ma Shi III, he firmly believed in this idea.

Gu Weijing is an amateur artist, so when he signed the contract, what he got was actually a contract from an international second-tier artist.

It can be regarded as the reward terms of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, which is close to the first line.

With such a big contract, Hanks won't get much percentage of the commission.

He can decide on the signing of Gu Tongxiang himself, and the percentage of the commission he gets from it is much higher.

Hanks told Gu Tongxiang his thoughts.

He thought in his heart that if he had the opportunity to become the acting artist of Ma Shi III, the old guy would be so happy that he could jump three feet high.

who knows,
Gu Tongxiang was indeed very excited, his face was flushed.But he actually held back and didn't agree immediately, but wanted to ask his grandson's opinion.

"You guys want to sign my grandfather, I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

Gu Weijing was happy for his grandfather.

Mashi Gallery's stage is ten or a hundred times bigger than the stage of a small gallery like theirs.

This is completely the difference between playing wild football in the community league or going to Real Madrid to work hard.

Even the few "national treasure" artists in the Myanmar National Art Association may have never had the chance to sign a contract with Ma Shi Gallery.

The old man has always had a knot in his heart, thinking that he has never had a chance to show himself in his life, and has been unknown in a small place all his life.

When I was getting old, my dream suddenly came true.

Is there anything more comforting than this?

"Grandpa, are you dissatisfied with the details of the contract?" Gu Weijing turned his head to look at the old man at home.

"Oh, what else is suitable for my age. Mr. Hanks Marsh gave me two options for me to choose. An annual creative allowance of 3500 US dollars + a monthly guarantee of a purchase painting of [-] US dollars .Or the subsidy remains the same, with a [-]/[-] split in the form of a consignment agent, I am two, and the gallery is eight. These two conditions are already very good for an old thing that has more than half of my body buried in the loess pile.”

The agency contract is in the form of three + five.

Sign for three years first, and then look at the situation. The gallery has the right to choose whether to continue to implement the terms for the next five years.

Such contracts are not uncommon in the gallery industry.

In Hanks' heart, Gu Weijing is the sun at eight or nine in the morning. If Gu Weijing is stupid and doesn't care, Hanks would like to sign him for three or 50 years.

At Gu Tongxiang's age.

On the contrary, the gallery is unwilling to sign for too long.

There is great uncertainty about the future of older painters.

Optimistically, it is possible to paint another half a year, and his career is as long as that of a century artist like Cao Lao.Maybe I won't be able to paint after two years. The gallery doesn't do charity, and I don't want to just pay allowances to support it.

Sign for three years to see the situation.

Considering Gu Weijing's relationship, Hanks directly gave Gu Tongxiang a three-category contract that is extremely favorable for ordinary newcomers.

Gu Tongxiang has nothing to dissatisfy.

Signing an InterContinental Gallery is like fulfilling an obsession on the bucket list in Mr. Gu's heart.

He is willing to do part-time jobs for nothing.

only……

"It's not me, Gu Tongxiang, that you want to sign, but only Wei Jing's grandfather." Gu Tongxiang looked at Gu Weijing, and then looked at Hanks on the side.

"What's the difference?"

Hanks shrugged: "Can the relationship between you and Mr. Gu be separated?"

Gu Tongxiang shook his head lightly.

"Different."

Gu Tongxiang knows that his painting skills are not unbearable, and he doesn't have the ability to be outstanding. It is good to put it in Myanmar, but it will be completely transparent if it is placed in Dongxia or Europe.

He is also at the level of an ordinary urban gallery.

In the eyes of really big galleries, farts don’t even count.

Galleries such as Gagosian represent him, and people feel ashamed. Even though Ma Shi Gallery has given up its super gallery style in recent years, it has cast a wide net to catch fish, and a lot of fourth- and fifth-tier small painters have signed.

But he, Gu Tongxiang, is not even considered a sixth-tier player in the international arena.

If you need contacts and no contacts, you need techniques, which are the techniques of ordinary professional painters.

From a piece of chicken rib that was tasteless and a pity to discard, it became a delicious chicken leg.

It's not that he's selling his grandson's face!
Gu Tongxiang has no ability to give his grandson better family conditions, thinking about seeing that his grandson is about to take off, he can't realize his dream for himself, and hold back his grandson at this time.

"If you sign me, you will definitely ask me to continue to paint Western-French fusion styles, right?" Mr. Gu asked.

"Of course, I think this is the dominant style of your grandparents. Didn't Mr. Gu also paint works of these styles in your painting and calligraphy shop?"

Hanks spread his hands.

Traditional Chinese paintings are not well accepted by the old audience of Mashi Gallery. Let Gu Tongxiang paint oil paintings?
Even more of a joke.

With a snap of his fingers, Hanks can find a stronger artist in Europe who is better than Gu Tongxiang's oil paintings and jumps in line to sign Ma Shi.

Why did he find an old East Asian man to paint oil paintings.

"It's not our grandparents' superior style, but Gu Weijing's superior style." Gu Tongxiang carefully corrected the mistakes in Hanks' words.

"This painting method is completely belonged to Gu Weijing. I will practice a few paintings in my calligraphy and painting shop in the past few days. Most of them are just to complete the heart knot that I failed to imitate Lang Shining back then. When Weijing goes to university, I will I will never touch this style of painting again.”

(End of this chapter)