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

Chapter 252, Art Market, Completing the Still Life
The lanterns are on.

Wang Zhen and Jiang Zhe came to a very famous seaside restaurant in Binhai.

In the spacious and luxurious banquet hall, more than a dozen guests arrived one after another and sat around a large round table filled with delicious food.

Manager Zhao sat in the main seat, and Wang Zhen sat in the host seat.

Because Manager Zhao and Consultant Liu were coming to Binhai for only one day, Wang Zhen and a group of friends decided to treat them to a banquet.

Jiang Zhe sat on Wang Zhen's left, with people on his left and right doing calligraphy and painting. The half circle of people opposite him were mostly collectors.

Manager Zhao raised his glass and said to everyone, "My dear friends, I would like to borrow a glass of wine from Manager Wang and all of you. Thank you for your warm hospitality."

Everyone raised their glasses.

Manager Zhao drank two more glasses, thanked everyone for their strong support on behalf of the company, and wished the auction a success and everyone would benefit.

After Wang Zhen finished his toast, everyone started drinking freely.

Some painters were so happy that they even invited Manager Zhao and others to go out and have some fun tonight.

Manager Zhao declined on the grounds that he had to catch a flight.

During a break from drinking, a collector asked Manager Zhao about the market conditions for calligraphy and painting this year and his prediction for the art auction market.

Manager Zhao put down the cup and said, "As for predictions, I don't dare to make them, but I can talk about it based on my personal experience. Analyzing the situation in recent years, the art market is gradually expanding and developing.

I started working in this field in the 90s.

According to some of my predecessors, earlier on, artworks that had been deposited in China for many years were circulated abroad to Hong Kong and Macao. As our economy developed, the number of collectors gradually increased, and there were signs of antiques and artworks returning.

At first, they came from Hong Kong and Macao, and later from Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States. This trend is expanding..."

Everyone quieted down and listened to Manager Zhao's analysis.

“Based on the analysis of last year’s auction results, calligraphy and painting accounted for nearly half of the total transactions, while the remaining ancient artworks accounted for a little more than 50%.

Among the paintings and calligraphy auctioned, the works of ancient and modern masters account for a large proportion. However, through observations over the past two years, I have discovered a phenomenon that the number of works returning from overseas is limited, and one day, the overseas collections will run out, and I mean the authentic ones.

After all, the number of good collections is limited, and when that happens, fakes will become rampant. Legally speaking, auction houses are not responsible for authenticity issues, but in order to maintain their reputation, auction houses will still try their best to verify the authenticity of the items. "

Manager Zhao looked at a row of calligraphers and painters and said, “In the past two years, the proportion of ancient and modern calligraphy and painting, and contemporary works has been changing.

At present, the proportion of works by modern and contemporary masters in art auctions is gradually increasing. In the future, whether it is oil paintings or Chinese paintings, the auctions of works by contemporary masters will continue to increase. This part of resources can be continuously created. Therefore, several major auction companies are paying attention to this market. Ladies and gentlemen, the future is promising. "

Jiang Zhe couldn't tell whether these words could move the crowd. He remained calm and believed that others would not be fooled so easily.

On the surface, everyone was supportive.

Manager Zhao cited several more examples, where almost all of the investments were made in the first year and the auction prices doubled in the second year, making the collectors even happier.

During the banquet, both the guests and the hosts enjoyed themselves greatly.

Manager Zhao and Consultant Liu were going back to Shanghai that night.

Jiang Zhe took Wang Zhen's car back to the studio.

He sat in the back seat and said to Wang Zhen next to him, "Do you think what Manager Zhao said was exaggerated?"

Wang Zhen said: "There must be, after all, auction companies need these artworks to circulate.

However, he is right in one point. Overall economic development will drive the development of the art market. Ten or twenty years ago, did the teachers in the art academy think that their works could be sold at the current prices? "

After drinking, Jiang Zhe went home and slept soundly. He even dreamed about his works, and the auction price doubled. On Sunday morning, Jiang Zhe washed up and felt energetic, so he started painting immediately.

He used tempera paint to lay down the first coat of base color.

The main images of this still life include a glass bottle filled with flowers, a wine glass, flowers, leaves, a blue and white porcelain plate, apples, pears, frosted grapes and other fruits.

Jiang Zhe also added some details, such as a metal fruit knife, worm-eaten grape leaves, peeled oranges, etc.

These details are both real and full of life. He did not copy the real still life, but refined and arranged these images according to the needs of the graphics and pictures. After clever arrangement, they are more realistic than the real images.

The background of the picture was originally designed to be a wall, but in order to highlight the main object, it was changed to a flat background with a light gray and olive green color.

The background color is translucent, and you can see the texture fibers of the canvas at the bottom through the paint layer, which has a special texture.

While Jiang Zhe was waiting for the picture to dry, Chen Yan called and asked him if he had time to rest.

Jiang Zhe didn't want to go out, so he asked Chen Yan to come to the studio to play.

He put down his phone and began to paint the second layer of color for the still life, focusing on the texture differences of different objects, such as the difference between metal and glass, the wood grain on the table, and the glaze and blue on the blue and white porcelain plate.

When he depicted the glass cup, he used highlights and reflections to show the different textures of the transparent and frosted parts of the cup.

When dealing with highlights, he did not use white directly, but adjusted the highlights to a light color with a color tendency, and used the shape of the highlights to express the light source. If you look closely at the highlights of the picture, you will find more interesting details.

Play with the second layer of color. The painting is basically completed. Once the surface is dry, you can use translucent colors to adjust the overall look.

Jiang Zhe did not continue painting, intending to observe the picture again after a while to look for any loopholes.

Ding Dong~the doorbell rang.

Jiang Zhe looked at the time and estimated that Chen Yan had arrived.

When I opened the door, it was indeed Chen Yan.

"Don't you give yourself a break during the weekend?" Chen Yan walked into the studio.

Jiang Zhe said: "There is a lot of homework and time is tight."

Chen Yan prepared some fruits for Jiang Zhe and placed them on the dining table in the living room. Then, she noticed the still life painting on the easel.

“This flower painting is so beautiful.”

She walked over, got closer to the picture, observed the details and praised: "These fruits are good, how are the highlights on the glass made? They are dotted with stars, and the texture is very strong!"

Jiang Zhe prepared warm water for Chen Yan and said, "Look at this painting. Can you find any special content?"

Chen Yan looked back at Jiang Zhe and said, "Are you trying to tease me again?"

"No, see if you can find it."

Chen Yan observed carefully: "The flowers in your painting are better than those in your previous works. I have seen many works depicting flowers, including your previous paintings, but none of them are as warm as this one. If it is put in the exhibition, I think many people will like it."

Jiang Zhe said: "You are right. The theme of this painting is flowers and fruits. But they are not the most special ones."

Chen Yan continued to guess: "Is the background of the picture special?"

Jiang Zhe said: "No, the background and flowers of this painting are based on the works of French painter Latour."

(End of this chapter)