The Versatile Master Artist

Chapter 145 - 101: Plein Air Sketching

It’s like a stand-up comedy performance, you say one line, and I’ll say another.

Each person presents a viewpoint, and the host adjusts the atmosphere. We discuss a painting for about ten minutes, each sharing two or three insights, mixing in humor, and it’s over.

It’s like playing a poetry game starting with a specific word. There are only so many suitable verses; if the first person recites ten lines, it becomes difficult for those following.

But Gu Weijing lacks experience, and Anna was keen to give Lady Detective Cat a chance to showcase herself.

Therefore, he almost meticulously analyzed the entire painting, sharing every insight he could think of.

Curator Tangkis hesitated for a moment.

It’s an exaggeration to say Gu Weijing’s earlier analysis left the curator ashamed and speechless.

Mr. Tangkis, an experienced curator with a lifetime immersed in painting appreciation, could always offer fresh perspectives whenever he chose to speak.

But the curator is also quite proud.

He is truly an international-level curator.

Saying the world’s art trends revolve around him might be an exaggeration, but rubbing shoulders with world-class artists is indeed a fact.

If Tangkis discusses something already covered by others, it seems like he’s just repeating ideas.

He pondered for a moment.

"Lady Detective Cat, what a wonderful commentary."

"So I have a question: do you think this painting is flawless?" Curator Tangkis subtly set a trap.

He realized that the detective had been discussing details but overlooked a more fundamental drawback of the painting.

This is a common mistake among painters without enough experience.

"The possible drawbacks in the creation of this painting? What I can see is that the brushstrokes are too rigid, there are too many distracting details on the lake’s surface, making the composition appear chaotic, the style of brushwork..."

Gu Weijing recalled the brush style of the painting in his mind’s vision.

The Tier Three oil painting technique is great but far from perfect.

"Hold on, the issues you mentioned aren’t wrong, but they’re not significant."

Curator Tangkis shook his head, interrupting Gu Weijing’s assessment.

"These perspectives are too technical. By the standards of a truly excellent artwork, there’s a more fatal flaw you didn’t point out."

The curator stroked his chin.

"Hmph, after all, he’s just an illustrator."

Curator Tangkis regained his confidence as an experienced curator.

Detective Cat may have some understanding of the composition, but working too often as a ’chauffeur’ for her employers has left her with a lack of in-depth art appreciation.

"Curator, the flaw you are referring to is its emotional appeal, right?"

Anna understood Curator Tangkis’s subtext and interjected to prevent Detective Cat from feeling awkward.

Whether called emotional appeal or the emotional impact of a painting, it pertains to how well the artist infuses their emotions into the work.

In simpler terms, it’s whether the painting is moving.

Painters with good technique and a strong sense of space can make their work more expressive.

But this is only relative.

A painting’s expressiveness relies on whether the painter has the passion and insight into the subject matter.

Illustrators have a natural disadvantage because they are not painting from their inspiration.

Illustrators are merely the tools of their commissioning clients.

In the industry, the requirement for illustrations is mainly to be visually pleasing and meet the client’s needs, not to focus on whether the creation itself is passionate.

Even among the seven illustrations Mr. Hibernian had Anna appraise, only the works from the undisputed leader in the illustration world, Jean Arnou, truly provided warmth and emotion to the audience.

The sketch by Lady Detective Cat can only be considered earnest.

On the other hand, the others couldn’t match Detective Cat’s authentic style.

Even the painting by the famous artist Derong Fan Doorn left Anna puzzled and unclear.

"The painting’s emotions aren’t great, but they aren’t bad... Lady Detective Cat, you are an illustrator, so lacking such sensitivity is normal."

Anna consoled her.

Detective Cat’s deep knowledge of oil painting had already pleasantly surprised Anna.

She knew that for a painter, expressing emotions is much harder than simply honing skills.

Even Picasso has works that seem half-hearted at a glance.

In essence, as long as the composition is coherent and the brushwork is earnest, it can be considered a good painting.

Most of a professional painter’s normal works in a lifetime remain within this emotional range.

It was entirely reasonable for Detective Cat not to catch the problem.

"If what Curator Tangkis pointed out is an emotional shortcoming, then it is..."

Anna was about to take over the topic when Detective Cat opened her mouth.

"The issue is that the painting isn’t ’cold’ enough, right?"

Gu Weijing thought for a moment.

In the mental breakdown of the painting, he indeed sensed that the painting’s emotions beyond technique were quite ordinary.

The system panel only gave it a ’Simple Works’ evaluation, and the main problem was the painting’s lack of coldness.

Looking at snowy landscapes, feeling cold to the bone—the highest pursuit of depicting winter in a painting.

The Calligraphy and Painting Identification Skill could see all of Paris in ’The Dance at the Moulin de la Galette,’ and hear the thunderstorm in ’Old Church on a Stormy Day.’

This painting is titled ’White Lake Baikal.’ Just the mention of ’white’ in the title naturally depicts a lake frozen by heavy snow.

But during the identification’s imagery, Gu Weijing couldn’t feel the cold.

It felt more like a plain sheet of paper dyed with white paint.

"You noticed? Why didn’t you mention it earlier?"

Curator Tangkis had words ready to speak, but he seemed to sniffle in frustration.

"A lack of empathy with the scenery; I think the artist painted it in their studio from a photo."

Gu Weijing shared his deduction: "But I don’t see anything wrong with that. It’s understandable. One can’t expect someone to paint at the freezing Lake Baikal, right?"

Impressionists prefer capturing fleeting light and shadow from reality, valuing plein air painting.

This preference is also relative,

Just as painters of religious art may not have seen God themselves. Requiring artists to paint at the freezing Lake Baikal seems somewhat unreasonable.

"Who says you can’t?"

Tangkis hummed inwardly.

Going to Lake Baikal for inspiration, what’s that?

This isn’t something he should say; it’s a public program. Saying this to ordinary audiences carries an air of indifference.

But that’s what Tangkis truly thinks.

For the major artists Curator Tangkis frequently interacts with, traveling far and wide for inspiration is naturally part of their work.

Spending tens of thousands of dollars to take a Former Soviet Union nuclear icebreaker to the Arctic, a few million dollars to buy a Pacific island for seclusion, hiring two dozen Nepalese Sherpas to take them to the top of Mount Everest to see the snow mountains.

It’s common.

As long as technology permits, these major artists are happy to spend money even to the moon for inspiration.

This isn’t a joke.

SpaceX’s announced Starship lunar flyby project includes six artists as its first commercial passengers, with the expected cost of this commercial flight ticket exceeding two billion US dollars.

Compared to that, going to Lake Baikal for inspiration is just a neighborhood park stroll.

"Alright, that’s enough for this painting. Let’s discuss the next one..."

Seeing that even the last point he wanted to make was addressed by Detective Cat.

Tangkis completely lost interest in discussing ’White Lake Baikal’ further and shifted the topic.

"Let me share my insights on this watercolor painting..."

This time, without Mr. Tree Sloth’s invitation, Tangkis started talking immediately and fervently.