The Versatile Master Artist

”That kid is a very talented young man. We are all in the Dongxia cultural circle, and if you can mentor him, it would count as the bond of master and apprentice.”

Master Cao explained.

Cui Xuanyou was unwilling to respond to Master Cao.

”Is that so... but in my view, this painting is already fantastic. The colors are smooth, the brushwork is precise, no wonder Master Cao values this young man. I think a new star will emerge in the Asian painting scene soon. Look at these simple color blocks, the horizontal and vertical lines intersecting seamlessly in the composition...”

Master Cao silently listened to the other party bragging about the painting extravagantly for several minutes, and Old Yang tried to interrupt several times, all stopped by Master Cao.

The old man didn’t say anything, only thanked courteously at the end, then hung up the phone.

”Ha, just judging by the tone, those in the know would understand this is about the kid from Myanmar. Those who don’t know might think the souls of Zhang Daqian and Mondrian are possessing him. If he doesn’t want to teach, then don’t teach; no one is forcing him. Who is Cui Xuanyou putting on this act for?”

Old Yang listened on the side, almost laughing in anger.

In the painting circle,

if someone criticizes your work in private, it shows they respect you.

In this kind of private request for guidance, willing to critique you is genuinely for your good.

But inflating an immature piece to the clouds, it’s either perfunctory or a killing with praise.

Cui Xuanyou’s rhetoric is common,

and very ”official.”

Usually seen when artists use euphemistic and courteous words to deal with demands from unsophisticated bosses who want their ”great works” appraised.

But doing this in front of Cao Xuan,

does he really think Mr. Cao is senile already?

”Alright, it’s understandable. In the matter of learning art, willingness to teach is kindness, unwillingness to teach is normal.”

The old man waved his hand.

Cui Xuanyou clearly doesn’t want to guide Gu Weijing.

Master Cao doesn’t have much of a choice.

”Since he doesn’t want to guide, then I will teach myself. The fusion of Eastern and Western painting styles doesn’t have shortcuts, it’s either clever methods or clumsy ones. Since there’s no shortcut, then the only choice is to practice honestly using the clumsy method.”

The old man shook his head.

Without Zhang the butcher, it’s not necessarily the case that one can only chew on hairy pigs.

Having Cui Xuanyou’s successful experience of teaching Xiaocui would certainly save a lot of trouble.

However, since he looks down on Gu Weijing, Master Cao has alternative plans.

”Clumsy method? You mean...”

Old Yang asked curiously.

”Do you know line sketching? When I was young, I once visited Old Shanghai to meet Mr. Xu Beihong; he mentioned a concept to me...”

Master Cao seemed to be lost in reminiscing about the past.

Line sketching,

this drawing practice originates from the concepts of modern Chinese painting masters.

Mr. Xu Beihong and other pioneering figures of Chinese painting advocated as early as the early 20th century that Dongxia’s artistic path should not be stagnant but should embrace the fusion of East and West.

The end product of such transformation was line sketching.

Line sketching is akin to simplified sketching,

integrating the Western Quick Sketch technique with the Chinese meticulous painting concept of ”direct stroke capture” and capturing the essence directly.

It is a unique sketching method in Dongxia, featuring a Western framework with Eastern spirit.

Compared to traditional sketching,

it uses pure and intense lines to replace the large areas of grey shading found in standard sketches, amalgamating the traditional Chinese meticulous painting’s brushwork spirit to ultimately capture the outline features of characters and structures with the simplest lines.

This is an innovative modern artistic practice.

Line sketching successfully achieves the balance of avoiding or skillfully utilizing shadows while not deviating from the essence of Chinese Painting centered around ”lines,” significantly simplifying the otherwise complex and cumbersome drawing process of traditional sketching.

”So, you plan to have Xiaogu practice line sketching, which is really hard work.”

Old Yang slightly pursed his lips.

It’s not that he thought Master Cao’s proposed solution had any issues; line sketching is a method pondered by several East-West learned great painters from the last century.

There shouldn’t be any problems.

But it is indeed a clumsy method.

Old Yang, being from an art background himself, understands the hardship of this drawing method.

Line sketching resembles the skill in Chinese painting’s white-sketch techniques when sketching. Although it eliminates the broad shadow ploys of conventional sketching,

it consequently requires a higher control of brushwork, ultimately consuming more mental energy.

Eastern meticulous painters, when doing white sketches, often ponder a single curve on a lady’s dress for a whole morning.

And one line sketch contains at least hundreds or thousands of lines.

This artistic practice is akin to calligraphy aficionados practicing and repeatedly mimicking the eight basic strokes of the character ”永” with water on felt; it is quite monotonous.

For young people who don’t have enough peace in their hearts, it’s even more of a torment.

Old Yang doesn’t have confidence in Gu Weijing’s ability to possess such tranquility, nor does he think he can endure such hardship.

With line sketching, you can only repeatedly refine each stroke, cultivating your mastery of the brush.

It’s called the ”water milling” discipline.

And when one might become good at it, is hard to say.

Some manage to produce the flavor after couple hundred sketches; some, even after three or five years, might barely be a beginner.

”If you want to draw well, how can you achieve it without enduring hardship?” Master Cao said calmly.

...

Gu Weijing received a call from Old Yang.

”Young Gu?”

As he just answered, he heard a slightly hoarse voice of an old man from the phone.