Almighty painter

Chapter 627 Zigang Carving Method
"Experience is the most valuable thing in the field of printmaking. Unfortunately, there is no way in the world to transfer experience from teachers to students. Therefore, I solemnly warn those who come after me to doubt everything they hear and gain real insights from practice."

——Stanley William Hayter, a famous printmaker in the 17s, founder of the Atelier 17 studio, and artist——
His watercolor skills had already reached the level of a Level 4 professional painter, close to perfection.

There is no pressure of exhibitions in watercolor painting.

Gu Weijing originally wanted to see if he could stay at the bottleneck of Level 4 for a while to make an overall review and summary of his painting ability throughout this period.

It’s like a breakthrough in imitating traditional Chinese painting techniques.

Relying on my own insights, I overcame the bottleneck in painting.

The destruction and construction by the lake in the Botanical Garden is a milestone in Gu Weijing's painting career so far. To some extent, he feels that it even surpasses the time he spent meditating in front of the "Painter Worshipping the Buddha" beside the Shwedagon Pagoda.

This change in him as a person is not limited to the Chinese painting technique.

It is a transformation that is like a life journey.

Never thought,
Today in the courtyard of the old church, he finished painting the "Self-Portrait" for Koko. While making the kitten Linghui in the painting come alive, he also helped her to directly cross the threshold of Lv.5.

It has reached the same level as the two main professions of Chinese painting and sketching.

Although it did not bring about a breakthrough in Chinese painting, it did not bring about a drastic transformation.

But just keep going, everything will work out naturally.

There was no sense of stagnation in the whole process. Before focusing his attention on the panel, Gu Weijing didn't even realize that his watercolor technique had reached the second professional level.

He just felt that when he put pen to paper, it was as if he had taken off the sandbag on his body.

Sway freely.

The colors become lighter and brighter.

The flowing paint throughout the painting began to form an interactive plane, while his previous works could only be regarded as fragments separated from each other.

Gu Weijing gave himself a thumbs up.

I couldn't help but give Miss Koko a thumbs up.

"Koko is such a good student!"

As satisfied as Gu Weijing was with Koko, he became just as dissatisfied when he looked at the old man who was scrolling through his phone by the window.

Comparing people with others will lead to death, and comparing goods with goods will lead to throwing away.

I only drew a guiding picture for Miss Koko, and in less than half an hour, I reached the point where my heart reflected her heart. The serial tasks that had troubled me for a long time were completed directly.

Where is the old man?

I have guided Mr. Gu to paint at least a hundred paintings. Even if we count two small sketches every day, there must be at least sixty or seventy practice paintings.

The results of it!
Grunts and hisses, hums and haws,
There has been no movement to this day.

Gu Weijing originally wanted to get a double yolk out of Mr. Gu and complete the last step of the serial tasks together with the advanced task of Chinese painting techniques.

As a result, Old Man Gu just stood there cackling and yelling.

Forget about double yolk eggs, there is no sign of egg laying at the moment.

What happened to Koko shows that it’s not that he taught badly.

Reflect the heart with the heart.

His heart was serious.

According to the control variable method, it can only mean that Lao Gu's heart is not here. He is so heartless that he focuses all his attention on the aunt in the park and the short video in his hand.

"Playing with things makes one lose one's spirit."

We have to continue to increase our efforts.

Gu Weijing shook his head and walked towards home holding Awang. He had been reminiscing about the progress of his watercolor techniques in the car, and now they finally arrived at the door of their home.

As he walked, he cast his eyes on the task rewards waiting to be collected on the system panel.

"Alert, you have a new reward!"

Classmate Gu is not doing well.

I can only look forward to the rewards announced on the system panel.

Gu Weijing selected this hint with his eyes.

"You have received the reward: "A random legendary skill (this reward is limited to the print category)", and the reward content is being drawn."

The silver book containing all the legendary skills that had been extracted previously, the knife painting technique, was virtualized again by the system panel.

It seemed as if clouds were flowing on the silver pages.

It is as light as the evening mist on the Yangon River and as bright as the winter snow in the north.

The state of the entire page is between solid and liquid.

Very amazing.

Gu Weijing kept his gaze on the book for a moment, and the pages began to turn by themselves with a rustling sound without wind.

Different from the last time I drew rewards from this skill book.

Quick flipping room.

Most of the book's pages are similarly shrouded in a silvery haze.

Only every five or six, or seven or eight pages, could Gu Weijing vaguely see the handwriting on the page -

"Flowering Vine Crown": Complete Northern Wei Dynasty Royal Buddhist Decorative Carving Techniques (Legendary Level)"

Daniel Hope's "German Augsburg School" etching metal engraving technique (legendary)

"The Jade Pattern Making Technique from the Gupta Dynasty's Greek Colors to the Indian Colors (Legendary Level)"

"Silkscreen: Andy Warhol's Ghost Fragments (Legendary)"

……

The system should only display the legendary techniques related to printmaking, and all other types of skills should be covered up by fog.

Gu Weijing stretched out his hand and reached for the page of the book floating in front of him.

The moment his fingers touched the system panel.

The speed of page turning gradually slowed down.

It slowly came to rest on a page covered by mist.

then.

He quickly flipped two more pages and automatically turned to the next printmaking technique that could be extracted.

A silver page of the book automatically fell out of it.

It melted in the air and transformed into a slowly rotating jade plate next to the Hundred Arts Tree on the system panel.

One side of the jade plaque is carved with a landscape pattern using extremely fine knifework.

A small jade plaque three inches long was engraved with the bright moon, green mountains, river beach and a passenger ship sailing on the river at night.

The front of the jade plaque has extremely rich scenery.

The carving is detailed but not complicated.

This exquisite place is extremely exquisite. Even the river sand on the shore seems to have been carved or crushed in some unknown way, creating a texture that seems as if the sand has been rolled up by water waves and overlapped.

The simple place looks extremely fresh and natural.

Some places.

The artist used only a few knife marks, and his knife strokes were like a large freehand brush. With just a few strokes, he fully carved out the subtle changes in texture between the rocks, river water, and river sand.

As fresh as the river breeze.

On the back of the jade plaque, there is a four-line poem engraved.

"Who would have thought that the carving would be so exquisite? The spirit is so mellow and flying, defeating the invasion."

Below these four lines of poetry, there is a line of system skill notes floating.

[Passive skill: Zigang Carving Heart Sutra]

[Quality: Legendary] [Special Effect: The wearer will master the flat wood and stone carving techniques of Ming Dynasty master Lu Zigang.]

[Equipment requirements: Chinese painting level Lv.5, sketching level Lv.4]

[Master Profile: Lu Zigang, originally from Taicang Prefecture, was born during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. He is a master of carving, very good at shaping and depicting lines and textures, and has integrated the brushwork of literati painting into the knife techniques of jade carving. He carves like a brush, and his strokes are wonderful and his workmanship is extraordinary. It is said that Emperor Zhu Zaiguo of the Ming Dynasty once ordered him to carve a treasured painting of Han Gan, "A Horse", on a jade ring.

The knife marks were as thin as a hair, and the horse looked as if it was about to fly.

On the ring, which is less than an inch long, the horse seems to be flying in the clouds, without detracting from the spirit of the original painting. Emperor Muzong thought it was a rare skill. The "Mudu Town Chronicle" records: "In addition to jade, its carvings also include bamboo, wood, stone, and even inlay (inlaying jade and gems), all of which are exquisite skills." 】

[Note: There is a little bit of the romanticism of Chen Miaochang, but no fireworks of Du Lanxiang. The Kunwu Peak is like Zhongnan Peak, and the sorrow is like Lu Zigang in Suzhou. ——Xu Wei, Ming Dynasty, "Ode to the Narcissus Hairpin"]

Gu Weijing stopped.

He stood still, quietly feeling the information pouring into his mind.

Among the five major categories: Chinese painting, oil painting, sketching, watercolor, and printmaking.

Only printmaking is fundamentally different from several other types of painting.

No matter how big the difference is between Chinese painting and oil painting in terms of color matching, line structure, and aesthetic structure.

It comes down to it.

They are all created by the painter using a brush dipped in paint and ink in front of paper or canvas, painting out structures and patterns stroke by stroke.

Printmaking is the process of completely transferring an image from one plane to another by engraving a plate.

A more popular explanation.

The other items were all "drawn".

Prints, on the other hand, are "printed". They are the only kind of works that, even if they are reproduced and mass-produced at the same time, are still not classified as assembly line handicrafts. They can barely be classified as the "original works" of the painter rather than craft copies, and are sold at a price that is one-tenth, a few-tenths, or even close to the price of original handwritten paintings.

Of course I want to sell it at a high price.

The painter's own participation must also be high.

I want to sell it at the price of the real thing.

The prerequisite is that the entire process of plate making and engraving of the work is completed by the painter himself, rather than outsourced to a craftsman who carves the plate by machine.

In this sense.

Each print made in this way does not need to be "forced", as they are all authentic works of the painter, and require even more effort than other painting methods.

(Note: The picture shows Rembrandt's etching sketch print "Death of the Virgin".)
Take Rembrandt, the most representative figure in the European printmaking world, as an example.

Printmaking was his lifelong passion.

The time and attention invested in it even surpasses that of oil painting.

The three famous world paintings are "Mona Lisa", "The Night Watch" and "Las Meninas".

Among them, "The Night Watch" is a group portrait painting commissioned by Rembrandt by sixteen militiamen from the Militia Guild. Although it was called a Militia Guild, these sixteen people were almost all descendants of local tycoons and local governors. They were either rich or noble. Each of them paid 100 Dutch guilders, and a total of 1600 gold coins were raised through crowdfunding.

Also, because everyone paid the same amount of money, the size and position of each person in the portrait was different. Some people stood in the center, while others only showed their faces in the corner of the picture.

There was almost a return dispute, and according to historical records.

At the same time as The Night Watch was created in the 17th century, anyone who wanted to buy a print from Rembrandt would have to pay about a hundred Dutch guilders.

It sounds like there's no comparison between 100 and 1600.

But this is without considering the size.

They are all three of the world's three most famous paintings. Many people go to the Louvre to see "Mona Lisa", but they are actually quite disappointed because it is too small. There is only that small photo-like painting hanging on the entire exhibition hall.

If you go to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to see "The Night Watch", you will be shocked.

"The Night Watch" is an extremely large oil painting.

This painting and its frame are so heavy that even if Mr. Sakai puts 200 donuts in it, it has to be hung by a crane. It is nearly four meters high and four and a half meters wide.

The area of ​​such a painting is comparable to that of dozens of Mona Lisas.

Taking into account the cumbersome production process and the complexity of the carving.

Even though Rembrandt's prints are mostly sketches.

But he must have put more effort into creating these prints than a larger oil painting, and the selling price at the time was similar.

Just for a long time.

In traditional art investment, collectors have some concerns when purchasing printed works.

I feel that compared to a real painting, a simple print seems a bit opportunistic.

The auction prices for Rembrandt's oil paintings have basically exceeded 1000 million US dollars.

The number of his prints in existence is not much greater than that of his oil paintings, but they can only be sold for two-thirds of this price or even less.

but.

The prices of prints in today's collecting world are also constantly rising.

Ever since Andy Warhol sold his silkscreen prints for tens of millions of pounds, the wealthy's view on printed products has been constantly changing.

Gu Weijing felt the information that the system injected into his mind.

Printmaking printmaking.

As the name suggests, the key lies in the word "version".

Usually the production process of printmaking includes three steps: drawing patterns, making plates, and printing.

Each step is very particular, but the most important one is "plate making".

The moment the master is complete.

This determines the upper limit of a print.

No matter how well and meticulously the printing and rubbing process is done, it cannot change the inherent deficiencies of the master plate.

Apart from the silk screen prints and composite material prints that appeared after entering modern and contemporary society.

Traditionally, prints are classified into three categories: woodcut, stonecut, and coppercut.

Different plate-making materials have different artistic characteristics.

Woodblock printing originated in Dongxia. Without exception, almost all the illustrations in ancient book collections were printed by craftsmen using wooden blocks.

Of the three types of printmaking, woodcut is the easiest material to engrave.

But it is also the most difficult material to draw accurately.

The material, density and texture of the wood will greatly affect the line effect after printing.

If handled well, it can give the picture a unique and vivid element.

If it is not handled properly, the paper will become mottled and turbid or blurred during printing.

The production of woodblock prints places great emphasis on experience.

Lithography originated in Germany and evolved from lithography. The production process is more meticulous than woodcut, and it can easily achieve extremely delicate and exquisite details, but it is also more difficult to carve stone plates, so etching is often used. Menzel's family was the one who founded the lithography printing workshop, and the craft was passed down from generation to generation.

Copperplate engraving is the most complicated type of printmaking. It has very strict requirements on drawing, engraving, printing, paper, ink and other materials used. It is very labor-intensive, time-consuming and costly, and the artwork engraved by it also appears very luxurious.

Therefore, early copperplate engravings only appeared in the palace.

Rembrandt improved the etching method by combining the characteristics of traditional copperplate engraving with those of stone lithography, and then he promoted it to great heights.

No matter what kind of printmaking technique.

Is it stone or wood?

Is it etching or carving?

It’s all a craft.

If you want to reach a high level and develop your manual work into an art, experience is the most important thing.

At this moment, Gu Weijing felt that a vast amount of carving experience was flooding into his mind.

(End of this chapter)