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

Chapter 379, Friends, give each other works, continue to visit

The third floor of the New Edge Gallery.

Jiang Zhe listened to Annie talk about her experience selling paintings in New York.

There are both sadness and joy. From these descriptions, we can hear that the American or Western art circles are not very friendly to newcomers.

Anne came from the farm to the big city. Although she experienced setbacks, she was lucky enough to have a big gallery willing to run her works and she was able to survive successfully here.

Although Anne's description is plain, one can still hear the twists and turns in it.

This also makes Jiang Zhe admire Annie very much. After experiencing hardships and achieving success, she can still maintain a sunny attitude. In contrast, David, who broke up with her before, also suffered a lot, but his personality became a little weird.

Because they were having a good time, Annie suggested, "Jiang Zhe, if you don't mind, I want to draw a portrait of you. I have drawn many people, but I have never drawn a young artist from another country."

Jiang Zhe smiled and said, "Of course."

When painters chat with each other, they inevitably talk about their own profession. Whether it is for competition or exchange, it is normal.

He then added: “If I could, I would also like to paint a portrait of you.”

"OK!" Annie asked the staff to bring paper.

There are various tools here, but both of them chose ordinary drawing paper. Annie chose charcoal pencils, and Jiang Zhe chose pens.

The two people adjusted their seats to a suitable distance and began to observe.

The staff member who brought the paper and pen to the two saw this scene and quietly passed the news to his colleagues. More and more staff members watched from a distance.

Jiang Zhe observed Annie carefully and quickly brought himself into the best state.

Anne is a bit fat, with a relatively round face. She has wheat-colored skin and curly brown hair that is simply tied behind her head. She wears a thick coat and shawl, a long skirt and small leather boots.

Since it was a short sketch, there was no need to consider color, only the image, so Jiang Zhe quickly thought of the image he wanted to express.

He took the pen, and after slightly determining the proportions of the figure, he began to draw from the character's hair.

A few lines are intertwined and interlaced to concisely draw the basic outline of the character, and then start to depict the facial features.

The technique he used was mainly Dürer's brushwork combined with Ingres's painting method. He used the length and density of the lines to outline the contours and depict the light and dark. Through the turning of the lines, people can feel the structure of the image.

For minor images such as hair and clothing, he chose to delete them and enhance the contrast between blank space and lines, and used most of the ink to depict the face and hands.

Jiang Zhe did not depict the picture completely according to reality, but painted Anne holding the coffee cup.

While the two were painting, Frick brought Wang Zhen and others down from the fourth floor. After hearing the staff's report, they came to watch.

No one disturbed the two people who were creating.

As the image gradually became more complete, Jiang Zhe's writing speed became slower and slower, and finally, he stopped and examined his own painting.

On this piece of drawing paper, which is slightly larger than A4, he drew a half-length portrait showing Anne sitting on a chair.

The face and hands are very detailed, with a heavy and beautiful feeling. Some parts such as hair, tops, skirts are only outlined, while others are interspersed with lines to show the changes in structure. Because of the turning and changing rhythm of the lines, the texture can be vaguely felt.

He examined the painting systematically. Although the painting was done casually, there were almost no mistakes in it, which was very difficult when painting with a pen.

He himself commented that this painting is definitely worth showing off.

Jiang Zhe chose a spot and signed his name. He even wrote two small seal characters on the seal to make it look more beautiful - Jiang Zhe.

He observed the picture again and felt that it was somewhat imperfect. In order to make the composition more beautiful, he wrote another paragraph.

"This is an amazing painter. People will remember her name - Anne." The text is followed by the date of creation.

The rhythm of the lines of these two lines of text are very coordinated with the lines of the character modeling, making the beauty of the entire picture consistent.

Jiang Zhe felt that if this piece of paper became older over the years, it might become more charming.

At this time, Annie asked while drawing: "Jiang Zhe, how old are you?"

"21 is old."

Annie glanced at Jiang Zhe and said with a smile: "You are too young, just like a child. But your temperament is very mature."

Seeing that the two seemed to have finished, everyone gathered around.

Many people looked at Jiang Zhe's paintings and gave him a thumbs up.

After seeing Annie's paintings, several of Jiang Zhe's companions praised them.

While saying thank you, Annie smiled and held up her work for Jiang Zhe to see. "Are you satisfied?"

Jiang Zhe saw that on Annie's screen was a somewhat distorted and exaggerated portrait of a man.

I used a rough brushstroke to draw the outline of the figure, and with a few broad strokes, I swept out the structure of the figure, and then began to use thick lines to depict the facial features.

In general, the figures are very exaggerated and the proportions are somewhat distorted. If you look at it at first glance, it feels like a novice's work, but if you appreciate it carefully, these lines maintain a simple charm, different from the real image, and the figures portrayed, although distorted and even exaggerated, are very interesting.

The more Jiang Zhe looked at it, the more interesting it became. Annie seemed to be painting her own temperament, or omitting everything else in order to paint what she was thinking at the time. The clothes, proportions, and movements in the painting all matched the theme she wanted to express. Jiang Zhe gradually realized that the image Annie painted was very similar to the moment when he was thinking.

"This work is really good. I feel like you are painting your inner world, which is my state of thinking." He gave his evaluation and handed his painting to Annie.

Anne said: "You are very accurate. Many people find my paintings a little weird. In fact, I am just sincerely expressing what I see or discover."

She looked at Jiang Zhe's work and smiled: "Your painting is great, like a beautiful piece of music." She said while imitating some strokes with her hands. "Thank you for your compliment. Seeing your painting, I also want to add a word."

She picked up the charcoal pencil and added a sentence on her painting: This is an excellent painter. This year, he is 21 years old.

"How do you like it?"

"Very much."

"For you."

Jiang Zhe and Annie presented their works to each other, and Frick suggested that they take a photo together here.

So, the two of them chose a position, took a photo holding the works given by each other, and then everyone took a group photo.

The staff brought frames and helped the two put their works into the frames.

Wang Zhen and others said goodbye.

"I'm sorry that you still have to go to another company. If you have time, you are welcome to visit my studio." Annie sent Jiang Zhe to the door of the gallery and invited him again.

Jiang Zhe also invited the other party to visit his studio.

The two sides said goodbye at the door of the gallery.

Jiang Zhe got in the car and saw Annie still waving at him, so he waved back.

The car started, he looked at the painting in his hand and felt that the trip was worthwhile.

"Is this painting really good? Why do I feel it's a little weird?" Wang Zhen asked.
Jiang Zhe said: "I didn't lie at the time, nor was I flattering her. She really was painting people's inner world."

When he and Wang Zhen were commenting on this painting, they did not know that when the people who experienced this incident today had left this world, the works they gave to each other would cause a lot of disputes and arguments.

On the way to Christie's, Jiang Zhe asked, "How was the negotiation? Did you reach an agreement?"

Wang Zhen shook his head: "These people, on the surface, are smiling and speaking politely, but they just want to take advantage.

They wanted us to recommend some painters to the domestic market, but they didn't want to give anything.

They are very interested in you and want to bring your paintings to their gallery. How is that possible? Your paintings have already been proven by the market, and they just want to take advantage of the ready-made products.”

Jiang Zhe recalled that during the time he had been in the gallery, some staff members had indeed taken the opportunity to contact him.

Everyone came to the headquarters of Jiashide.

They were received by a young business manager, a Chinese American named Chen Xiaohua.

He first took everyone on a tour. During the tour, he told Jiang Zhe that several senior executives in the company admired him very much, but because they were still in Europe, they could not come back to meet him, so he apologized.

He whispered to Jiang Zhe, "Our company hopes to auction at least two of your works every year. Through the previous successful cases, I believe you have also seen the strength of our company. Under our operation, your works will be recognized by more and more customers. I believe this will also be beneficial to you.

There is an important auction this spring, and it will be for your work, Morning Garden. What do you think? I believe it will fetch a higher price than your Training Room.

Jiang Zhe said, "The sales of my works are all in the hands of Manager Wang." He indicated that he could talk to Wang Zhen, and then continued, "If I auction two works at your company every year, plus the domestic auctions, that would be at least four works a year. Wouldn't that be too much?"

"Selling four paintings a year is not a lot for a painter. Many painters are willing to sell most of their works."

"You can talk to Manager Wang."

After the visit, the two sides started to discuss business.

Wang Zhen and several of his companions wanted to recommend the works of the painters they represented to Christie's.

The auction company manager, only vaguely expressed, will make the selection.

After discussing the general intention, Chen Xiaohua invited them to visit the auction preview that was being held.

There are many Chinese artworks in the preview.

Jiang Zhe saw some ancient stationery.

His vision was also improving. Although he was not proficient in identification, he did have a way.

With the permission of the auction company, he touched several pieces of stationery himself.

It was found that a yellow jade pen tip and a bamboo carved armrest caused a system reaction.

This shows that these two pieces of stationery from the Qing Dynasty are authentic.

Whether for improving his skills or for collection, Jiang Zhe wanted to buy them.

(End of this chapter)