Chapter 8 :Miracle drawing (8)

“First, a bright color for the background…”

Preparing to set a mood by slowly laying the tones, Jinho mixed yellow and magenta and created a bright reddish color.
A key point when painting is to never use the primary colors in their pure state. Because the primary colors are too strong, they tend to become a hinderance when layering the tone and the hues later in the process. Especially when working with dark colors, a mix of two or more colors looks better and more appropriate for setting the tone. After all, a dark spot isn’t necessarily pure black. Like so, the relationship between light and color is bizarre.
After partially setting the background colors, Jinho began to organize and angle the large shapes in the painting.
Setting the musician’s placement first, Jinho made small adjustments to the shapes as he compared the sketch and the painting.

‘Since this part can be omitted, I’ll partially paint it over… hmm. This poster fits into the balance better than I expected. I’ll emphasize it a bit more.’

After drawing the large clumps, Jinho slowly layered the tone and further defined the objects.
Humans to look more human-like, chairs to be more chair-like, and even during this time, Jinho didn’t forget to mix new colors. It was a tedious but necessary work.

‘Painting the primary colors is for the last. When the time comes, I’ll use it as a highlight to create an oil painting-like mood.’

This was the painting style Jinho favored.
By mixing a bit of white to erase acrylic paint’s unique luster, Jinho could emphasize the paint’s original hues while creating an oil painting-like impression. Of course, it’ll be simpler to use oil paints to paint but…

‘Oil paints are just too expensive.’

Jinho continued to move the brush as he lamented the reality.
He also didn’t forget to close his eye from time to time to check the painting’s progress. Although he stopped the brush and pondered for a while whenever a part he was satisfied with shone and needed adjustments, overall the painting progressed smoothly.
And after concentrating for an unknown amount of time, Jinho colored in the musician’s guitar and finished the painting.

“Huu!”

Jinho, who had been holding his breath from concentrating, deeply breathed out as he stood up.
When he checked the watch, it was already six in the evening. He had spent a solid three hours just concentrating on painting. Jinho, who couldn’t even remember the last time he concentrated so much while painting, checked the finished work.
And he shocked himself.

“Brilliant.”

The dazzling performance of the guitarist and his melody were expressed with color, further emphasizing the musician. Although most of the minute details were focused on the guitarist and his guitar, the picture’s meaning felt clearer due to the focus.
Most of all, because the guitarist’s passion seemed to be clearly expressed, Jinho felt elated.
Jinho smiled in satisfaction and sipped a cup of water.
If he could keep up the pace and finish the next piece, five of the twenty artworks would be finished.
Bzzzz. Bzzzz.
At that moment, Jinho’s phone vibrated from a call. Thinking it might be his friend Sangcheol calling again to eat out, Jinho smacked his lips.

‘I have to keep drawing while this sensation lasts. How should I reject him?’

And so he checked the caller on the screen, but it wasn’t Sangcheol.
Seeing the completely unexpected caller ID, Jinho hurriedly pressed the phone’s accept button in surprise.

“Hel, hello?”

Jinho even stuttered.
From the speaker, a young woman’s voice came out.

[Hello. This is Mr. Lee Jinho, yes? This is Art College application examination academy (TN: basically a private business that helps people make college applications), Manhattan Art Gallery. You contacted us few weeks ago for a conference, but the reservations were full until now. Do you perhaps have time tomorrow?]

*

“Huu.”

Facing the building situated in Midtown Manhattan, Jinho lightly breathed in and calmed himself.
Although part of him wondered if there was a need to feel so tense, but something like this couldn’t be helped.
Manhattan Art Gallery.
It was the best art application examination academy according to both overseas and domestic applicants who dreamt of  entering New York’s art colleges.
Boasting ninety five percent acceptance rate, the academy was full of teachers who graduated from prestigious and well-known art colleges.
Jinho also asked for a conference when he felt himself hitting a limit while preparing his portfolio and application, and that was about two weeks ago.
To think he needed to wait two weeks for a conference.

‘Just how many reservations were there? Amazing, both the students, and the teachers…’

When Jinho pressed the intercom button with his trembling finger, a short tone ringed and disappeared.
Soon after, a familiar woman’s voice came out of the speaker. It was the same person who called Jinho before.

[Manhattan Art Gallery. May I help you?]
“Hello. I’m Lee Jinho and I have an appointment for a conference today.”
[Ah, Mr. Jinho. Just a moment. Once the green light turns on, you can open the door and come in.]

Then the speaker turned off with a beep, and the light turned on as the lock opened as per instruction. And when Jinho carefully opened the door to enter, an amazing hallway came into his view.

‘Can an art academy really run itself while renting such a high-quality office building?’

Expensive looking marble was set as the floor, and sculptures lined the hall here and there until the elevator.
Jinho who had never entered a high-quality buildings in New York until now didn’t know where to look and kept looking around. And when he stood in front of the elevator, he couldn’t find the elevator button and panicked.
From next to Jinho who was nervously looking around, a deep voice called out.

“Which floor?”
“Ah, the fourth floor.”
“You can take the elevator that’s opening now.”
‘It looks like the security even takes care of the elevator. Wow…’

Seeing Jinho becoming repressed from the atmosphere and unknowingly looking down, the security lightly smiled at him. It was a office smile, the one where the smile didn’t reach the eyes.
Jinho got into the elevator and thought about various things as it went up.

‘Two weeks ago when I asked for a conference, they asked me if I have any finished artwork, and sent the three that I showed Ms. Fei.’

Of course, they had been edited and now were completely different pictures.
Instead of mailing the edited artworks, Jinho personally took a picture, printed it, and brought them in his bag.
Since the appointment was for today, he didn’t feel any need to especially send them by email.
Wondering what they’ll talk about, Jinho felt half nervous and half hopeful.
Soon, with a ding, the elevator door opened.
At the end of another hallway, there was a door with ‘Manhattan Art Gallery’ sign. When Jinho opened the semi-transparent door and entered, a woman in her late twenties greeted him.

“Mr. Jinho, right? Welcome. I’m the vice director of Manhattan Art Gallery, Jo Migyeong.”
“Ah, you’re the vice director. Hello.”
“The conference will be with the director. Then, should we head to the office?”

Jo Migyeong, the vice director, led Jinho to the director’s office situated down the academy.
While walking, Jinho could see many students drawing.
There were students having a heated discussion with someone who looked like a teacher, and there were students concentrating in private rooms.
Migyeong explained as she guided.

“The students who are working with the teachers are mostly the ones preparing their portfolio. The students working alone are those who are preparing for graduation or an exhibit. They’re all talented students, so it’s pretty fun teaching them.”
“Ah, yes.”
‘Although, doesn’t it seem… a bit…?’

Although Jinho suitably answered Migyeong, once he took a short look, Jinho couldn’t understand.
The picture the student who’s talking with a teacher seems to be of a person doing something, but everything starting with the body proportion was wrong.
The basics of ‘sizing the picture based on the paper’s size’ wasn’t even followed and some of the parts that couldn’t be drawn on the paper were cut out.
At least the pictures of students preparing for exhibits were better, but there were still many places that were lacking.

‘Right, this is an academy. They’re coming here to fix the areas they lack.’

Jinho himself was like that.
So he thought and followed the vice president once again, but Jinho heard a conversation between a teacher and a student.

“Ah, professor. Please draw this part for me. I keep getting the proportions wrong and the arm is getting out.”
“Sigh, you blockhead. Move aside. Give me the pencil too.”

The teacher sat down and began to make total edits to the picture.
Starting with the crooked pose, disproportional head size, hand, etc, the teacher erased various parts and redrew the picture, producing a completely different picture on the paper than what the student had been drawing.
The student, who had been watching with a satisfied look, smiled.

“Hehe, it looks really easy when the professor do it, but I wonder why it’s always a mess when I do it?”
“So practice. Then slowly fill up the picture. Call again if you need me. Next, Im Hocheol, how far have you got in painting? What the, nothing’s changed since I last saw it. Sigh, you hand me the brush too.”

Not only did the teacher looked at the students’ works, he also drew the pictures for them.
When Jinho momentarily stared at the sight in shock, Migyeong woke him up.

“Mr. Jinho?”
“Ah, yes.”
“You can get into the office in front of me. The director is waiting inside.”
“Yes, thank you.”

Although he said thanks, Jinho had various questions inside and his
expression wasn’t very bright. But for now, he had to enter the office.
When Jinho entered the door Migyeong opened, he saw a man with a horn-rimmed glasses putting all his focus on a monitor.

“Sit at the front.”
“Ah, yes.”

Although he kept typing on the keyboard, the man knew that Jinho came into the office.
Jinho who became flustered for some reason sat down on a chair and twirled his fingers.
Only after five minutes had passed did the director finally clicked the mouse once and fixed his pose.
By the time, his face had a office smile on.

“Sorry about that. Mr. Lee Jinho right? I’m the director of Manhattan Art Gallery, Jeong Ujin. Nice to meet you. We had an event with Parsons College recently, but because I had to direct it a bit I couldn’t pay attention to Mr. Jinho in the office. Once again, I apologize.”
“Ah, yes.”
“So, hmm. You wanted a conference for your portfolio?”

Ujin turned the monitor with his hand so that both Jinho and Ujin can see the screen.
On the monitor was the mail Jinho sent two weeks ago and the three artworks he attached.
Jinho nodded at Ujin’s words.

“Yes, I need to prepare twenty or so works…”
“There’s only about two months left. And…  you said that you only had three artworks done.”

Ujin cut into Jinho’s words and used the mouse to expand the pictures.
Soon, Jinho’s unedited pictures popped up one by one.

“Yes, because of that I wanted to tell you something. Before that, I recently made some edits…”
“The bill will be about eight grand for two months.”
“Yes?”

At Ujin’s abrupt words, Jinho’s eyes became round.
Ujin kept his eyes on the monitor and repeated again with an intelligible voice.

“To finish the portfolio in two months, you’ll need about eight grands.”

<Miracle Drawing! 8. >  End