Van Gogh Reborn!

I tried to ignore the discomfort and finished the work. 

Instead of drawing the sides of a long cylindrical bullet, I highlighted Ray and Lupin by drawing the front of the bullet. 

Isidore and Herlock were placed on the side of a half-visible bullet to express their emotions in their distorted faces and postures. 

Unlike when painting [Sunflower], [Guest], [Happiness], [Frost Wheat Field], and [Mask], it was not easy to express the smooth texture of the bullet and the reflection on it realistically. 

Thanks to this, I had to redraw several times even after completing the idea and managed to meet the promised date. 

Before sending the canvas, I took a picture and sent it to Nolan, and I got a call right away. 

I guess he’s been waiting for it. 

“Yes, Director Nolan.” 

– You really are a genius. 

I felt confused by the sudden compliment, but I’m glad since it was the words of Nolan, not anyone else. 

He seems to have liked it. 

“No, it wasn’t easy, it gave me a hard time.” 

– I’m sure it would have. If someone can make this kind of work right away, I don’t think he will be a human being? 

Nolan’s giving me a load of leeway! 

“I did it this way because Director Nolan said it’s okay as long as I draw it. Can you film this?” 

– Of course. Didn’t I tell you? I can film anything. 

I don’t know how he will film a flying bullet, but I can believe it if it’s Nolan. 

– I left it to you just in case, but that was the correct choice. I’ll go with your image. Great job. 

It’s such an important scene that not only I, but also the entire concept art design team and art director Nathan Evans, put forward various proposals, but Nolan seems to have chosen my painting. 

I wonder if there is anything more pleasant than being recognized for your hard work and efforts. 

“I’ll send the original through Uncle Bang.” 

– Okay. Good night. I’ll get in touch again. 

I finished the call. 

The happy mood is also filled with emptiness as I look at the quiet studio for a while. 

To forget the cluttered mind, I started cleaning up the messy studio. 

From tomorrow, I will have to pay attention to my school work and I will try to do the broadcast little by little. 

What else should I do? 

If I have nothing to do, I’m so worried that I can’t stand it. 

Concerns that had barely been suppressed by working on the concept art of ‘The Strange Castle’ rose gradually. 

If Grandpa ever asks me. 

Can I lie if he asks me if I’m really his grandson? 

I can’t bear to say that I’m not your grandson and I’m a Dutchman who died a hundred years ago. 

Will he believe me? 

Will it be acceptable? 

If……. 

What should I do if he wants me to return his grandson? 

If he doesn’t accept me, what should I do, I, who already loves him more than anyone else? 

The world is full of unknown and incomprehensible things, but it’s not harder than this question. 

What should I do? 

I don’t know at this point. 

I will just do my best not to leave any regrets. 

“Professor.” 

“Huh?” 

Lee Nari, an assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Fine Arts at Korean University, stared at Professor Jang Mirae. 

It was surprising that she wore a suit that she didn’t usually wear and put on makeup that she didn’t usually put. 

“Who are you meeting today, Professor?” 

“Why? Am I pretty today?” 

Jang Mirae smiled and put her hand on her waist. 

“No, it’s weird.” 

Assistant Nari frowned. 

“I’ve been thinking about it since before, but why do you do makeup like that when you’re so good at drawing?” 

Jang Mirae opened her eyes and mouth wide. 

For her, who was quite confident in her aesthetic sense, the shock was inevitable. 

“Is it that weird?”

“Yes. I think it’s like a middle school girl, who imitated her mother’s makeup.”

Jang Mirae breathed heavily at Lee Nari’s cold comment while looking at the mirror hanging at the entrance of the office. 

“What’s wrong with this?” 

“Who makes the eyes this dark these days. The underline is also too dark. The eyelash curling is severe as if you want to brag about your hard makeup.” 

“I did my best…” 

Lee Nari sighed deeply at Jang Mirae’s words. 

It’s been 10 years since she has been close to Jang Mirae, a senior from the same college. 

She felt like she had to say for sure today. 

“Tell me. Who are you meeting?” 

“An interview with ‘The Korean Express’. Is it really that weird? 

Lee Nari shook her head. 

She didn’t want to reveal the senior she respects and likes to the media like that. 

“Let’s get rid of it quickly. Let me see your bag.” 

Lee Nari opened Jang Mirae’s bag. 

When she took out the pouch, Wet & Soft’s highlighter, blusher, eye shadow palette, foundation, and lip color were gathered in a cute way. 

Everything was from a famous brand that’s known for offering high-quality products for their high price. 

Jang Mirae looked down at Lee Nari, looking down at the cosmetics pouch. 

“What? Is it strange?” 

“ Did you buy everything at one place because you were lazy?” 

Jang Mirae nodded. 

“Why? Is this not good?”

“No problem with cosmetics.” 

“Then?” 

“Professor is the problem.” 

Lee Nari handed her cleansing foam to Jang Mirae, who was shocked and hardened and pushed her. 

Jang Mirae had no choice but to remove her makeup. 

Lee Nari pushed Jang Mirae on a chair and took out her own cosmetics. 

After applying toner and lotion to Jang Mirae’s face one after another, she squeezed out the cream. 

“What’s that?” 

“Tone-up cream. You have clear features, so you are fine by just applying this.” 

“I don’t want to look gentle.”

“Then just put on some lipstick.” 

“Can’t I use mine?” 

“If you like it that much, why don’t you use it for drawing.” 

Lee Nari responded like that because she couldn’t ask Jang Mirae to throw away what she bought. 

“Right. Why didn’t I think about drawing with lipstick? There is also an artist who draws with lipstick and kisses.” 1)

Lee Nari smiled in vain. 

It was just fascinating to see her senior who gets excited about anything related to painting. 

“It’s over.” 

Jang Mirae examined her face with a hand mirror handed over by Inari. 

“I feel empty.” 

“No. It’s a lot better now.” 

“Isn’t it just a difference of taste?”

“No.” 

“Why are you so determined today?” 

“Honestly, you looked like a Peking Opera actor with the powder you put on your face.” 2)

Jang Mirae, who continued her useless resistance, eventually burst into laughter. 

“Ok, I have to go. Thank you.” 

“If you want to thank me, buy me a meal.” 

“Okay. Tomorrow lunch? What should we eat?” 

“Chogye-guksu (Chilled Chicken Soup)!” 

“Alright.” 

Jang Mi-rae, who was getting up with her bag, suddenly remembered Ko Sooyeol’s retirement ceremony. 

“Ah, yes. How’s the retirement ceremony preparations going? Will a lot of students come?” 

“It’s crazy. I texted everyone, and everyone said they will definitely be there, so I don’t know where to set up the place.” 

Jang Mirae tapped Lee’s shoulder as if comforting her. 

“I’ll look for it, too.”

“Why are you looking for it?” 

“I’m also his student. There’s no such thing as your favorite teacher’s retirement ceremony.” 

Jang Mirae smiled at Lee Nari and left the office. 

On her way to the meeting place, she greeted the Korean Daily reporter Lee Inho, who was waiting for her. 

“Hello.” 

“Oh! Hello,” 

Lee Inho greeted Jang Mirae with a smile. 

“Thank you for the other day. Thanks to you, I was able to get an interview with Ko Hun. I’m sorry for thanking you very late.” 

Lee Inho, who started covering the art world under the direction of his boss, made eye contact with Jang Mirae, recalling what happened last year. 

When he first saw her, he was surprised to hear that she was a professor at a major Art university, but as he learned little by little about the situation in the art world, he learned how great a painter named Jang Mirae was. 

Born in 1997, Jang Mirae, who is 31 years old, was one of the most popular young artists in the world, along with Ferdinando Gonzalez and Henry Marceau. 

“What? It’s fine, it’s for my Little Hun anyway. The article was also well written.” 

Jang Mirae touched the sensor and opened the door to her studio.. 

“Come on in. There are some works that haven’t been released, so please be careful with the pictures.” 

“Yes.” 

Lee Inho, who entered Jang Mirae’s studio, looked around. 

He felt suffocated by the smell of paint. 

On one side, an unknown air balloon was randomly scattered, and red paint like blood was splashed all over the studio. 

A lot of faded nets were scattered on the ceiling and large paint cans rolled around randomly. 

At first glance, it looked like a bizarre crime scene, so he couldn’t think of it as a studio of a young artist who looked younger than him in age. 

“Oh,” 

Lee Inho was distracted by a large canvas hanging across the entrance. 

It overwhelmed Inho even though it was not completed because the width was over 3m. 

“It’s amazing.”

“Cool, right?” 

“Cool,” 

Lee Inho nodded. 

“Sit down. Coffee’s good, right?” 

“Yes, thank you.” 

Jang Mirae took out the cold brew coffee she bought yesterday from the refrigerator in the studio. 

She filled the glass with ice, poured coffee, and recommended it to reporter Lee Inho. 

The climate was getting hot, and Lee Inho, who sweated while walking, was grateful for the drink. 

“It’s my first time coming to an artist’s studio, and it’s very different from what I thought.” 

“It’s very messy, right?” laughed Jang Mirae. 

“No. How should I put it? Elegant? I thought it would be an elegant place. But when I look around, it looks pretty fierce. It’s like a war zone.” 

Reporter Lee Inho answered honestly. 

Jang Mirae observed Lee Inho while drinking her coffee. 

It didn’t feel like he was lying. 

Jang Mirae said with a sneer. 

“You are saying it’s messy in a roundabout way.” 

“Oh! No? I didn’t mean it like that. Really, I swear.” 

Lee Inho smiled awkwardly. 

Jang Mirae, who confirmed what kind of person Lee Inho was in her own way, changed her posture with the intention of answering the interview, and reporter Lee Inho read the atmosphere and started asking questions.  

“You said you were going to hold an exhibition later this year, what are you planning?”

“I’m going to hold it in Seoul, New York, London, Paris, and Sao Paulo.” 

“Then it’ll be a tour?”

“Well……,” 

Jang Mirae shrugged playfully. 

Lee Inho narrowed his eyebrows. 

“You answered in a vague way, is it a difficult question to answer? Like an exhibition concept.” 

“Yes. I’ll just tell you that I’ve been preparing for it a long time.” 

Lee Inho wrote the place and time and a question mark in his notebook. 

When he first stepped into the art world, he repeatedly felt confused by the works of modern artists, but after realizing that it was a world where common sense was denied, he tried to accept it as it is. 

If even the most basic exhibition schedule could not be said, he thought that there would be something to do with the intention of Jang Mirae. 

“It’s been a year since you started teaching at the University. How do you feel?”

“It’s a mess. It’s hard to teach students and it’s my first time teaching.” 

“Okay, But isn’t the act of teaching someone really scary? Are you careful about anything?” 

“Yes, it’s really scary. My answer may not be the answer for some students,” 

Lee Inho nodded. 

“So I try to listen to the students as much as I can. Student presentations are more frequent than my lectures. Almost every day there will be a presentation by a student.” 

“Everyday…!” 

Reporter Lee Inho laughed and continued the question thinking that Jang Mirae was an honest person. 

“When I was looking around at the bamboo forest at Korean University, I heard that your class is very popular. Does that kind of pressure affect your lecture?” 

“I don’t know. Maybe they like it because it’s a class where you can take a test without studying?” 

“Hahaha!” 

Jang Mirae added after laughing once. 

“That’s how Professor Ko Sooyeol gave us a lecture.” 

“Then, when you heard Professor Ko Sooyeol’s lecture, did you decide to teach like him?” 

“At that time, I didn’t know I was going to be a professor, and it was just good. It was the first time I had listened to a lecture for so long. It was a three-hour lecture, and I think he spoke for two hours. We took a break in the middle and kept talking until the next break.”

Lee Inho asked, putting strength in his hand and holding the pen. 

“What was the topic for two hours?”

“It was Richard Serra.” 

1) 

Alexis Fraser, known as Lipstick Lex, has been inspiring positivity through her unique medium.

Armed with tubes of lipstick and an assortment of makeup brushes, Sarasota resident Alexis Fraser, more popularly known as Lipstick Lex on social media, has been spreading positivity with her unconventional art since 2012.

Fraser said that a former client commissioned a painting of Marilyn Monroe, and challenged her “to create it in a nontraditional way … that still correlated with Marilyn Monroe.” That request led the artist to the idea of creating her paintings with lipstick and “kiss prints,” an homage to pointillism in which she repeatedly kisses the canvas.

To know more https://lipsticklex.com/

2) Penking Opera actor