novelraw Chapter 158 - 108: Not Quite as Good
Chapter 158 - 108: Not Quite as Good
Since the Republic era,
the great painting schools of Dongxia have been continuously influenced by global artistic trends, and it is rare to find someone who is completely ignorant of oil painting.
On the contrary,
the spirit of art is open,
and being complacent will only lead to being abandoned by the times.
Many renowned painters, such as Huang Jian Nan, who won the Silver Award at the Louvre in France and whose works are part of the Louvre’s collection, and others like Wu Guanzhong, all belong to the type of artists skilled in both Chinese painting and oil painting, excelling in each.
Elder Cao himself doesn’t often paint in oil.
But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t understand oil painting.
The early disciples of Elder Cao, including his eldest disciple who died young, Professor Lin Tao, and the third disciple Wei Yunxian, are all artists who have made significant contributions in the field of oil painting.
Instead, the last two disciples he took on seem to hold a desire to succeed their teacher in the realm of Chinese painting, investing less effort into oil painting.
Upon seeing this painting for the first time, Professor Lin Tao was astonished by the unique oil painting texture and line modeling displayed by Gu Weijing.
The skill level is quite impressive.
It was completely comparable to some of the higher-grade students in his studio.
Placed in the Central Academy of Fine Arts campus, renowned as the cradle of Asian artists, it might not be considered astounding, but it is definitely a promising seedling for future excellent artists.
What amazed him even more was the rapid progress Gu Weijing had made during this period.
Lin Tao had already noticed Gu Weijing’s proficiency in line work not long ago, from the pen sketch related to the Great Golden Pagoda.
It was already impressive,
and now, compared to a month ago, it presents a completely different and new outlook.
"There’s effort, and there’s talent as well."
Professor Lin Tao nodded.
Practicing meticulous painting inherently enhances a painter’s line shaping skills comprehensively, having a kind of cross-referential effect on sketches and oil painting modeling.
However, the ability to draw connections varies from person to person,
and not everyone can "connect" so quickly.
This rate of progress made even Professor Lin a bit envious.
Yet, the overall feeling of this painting, why is it... so strange?
"Oh, I see, so it’s a meticulous oil painting, quite ambitious indeed."
Lin Tao took out the old painting glasses from his glasses case and put them on. After pondering over the painting for a moment, he felt the overall dissonance emanating from it.
"The idea is good, but unfortunately..."
The thoughts and intentions Gu Weijing poured into this painting were almost immediately apparent to the experienced eyes of an old artist like Professor Lin.
Professor Lin Tao is not unfamiliar with fusion painting techniques.
The path of mixing Eastern and Western artistic trends in painting is a steep and perilous ascent.
This path truly leads to the heavens.
In the past two hundred years, those who have successfully walked this path have all been world-class artists whose every painting can cause a storm at auction.
The famous Impressionism and its roots in Eastern painting need no explanation.
Founding a sect is the lifelong dream of any artist.
Artists in Dongxia who have successfully integrated Chinese painting insights into oil painting techniques, whether it be Zhao Wuji or Wu Guanzhong, have almost developed their own unique styles,
forming the nascent shape of founding a sect.
More precious is that.
It can disregard the differences in artistic aesthetics.
Foreign audiences might not appreciate Chinese painting, and the Asian market might remain indifferent to African futurism styles.
But fusion painting techniques have achieved tremendous success in almost any art market in the East, West, North, South, whether in China, France, Germany, or Japan.
Like the dual nature of a coin.
This painting technique holds infinite potential, yet is perilously steep.
This road is extremely difficult to walk.
The reconciliation of different artistic styles is the field that tests painting skills the most.
Fusion painting pursues an effect greater than the sum of its parts.
The technique of meticulous oil painting does not mean you paint a bunch of grapes meticulously, then use oil painting to create a still life of apples, and putting them together can be called a fusion painting.
This can only be considered a mishmash that Easterners can’t comprehend and Westerners can’t understand, an oddity.
"Too late, yet too early."
Lin Tao looked at this "Sunshine Orphanage" with a regretful shake of his head.
At Gu Weijing’s current age, like many who have received a good education in fine arts, their painting style has become fixed.
The nuances, dots, connections, and dyes of meticulous painting. The thin scumbles, glazing, impasto, and pointillism of oil painting have developed into habits akin to muscle memory.
This certainly cannot be considered a bad thing.
Yet, what fusion painting seeks is to break boundaries and transcend traditions.
When painters are bound by the muscle memory of textbook-like techniques they have learned, in the blending of two painting techniques, they are easily trapped in the limitations of past thinking, causing hindrance.
The discordance felt in Gu Weijing’s painting comes largely from this.
This is a result of the conflict between thought and established habits.
Theoretically, learning fusion painting requires a state akin to how Zhang Sanfeng taught Zhang Wuji Tai Chi, forgetting the old painting rules, under the guidance of a master, achieving a state where no techniques is better than having techniques.
For example, Zhu Nai Zheng, the vice president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, chooses only the essence of oil painting, discarding its techniques, preferring to paint oil with a Chinese brush.
Theoretically, such a painting method, like a blank paper, is easier for young children to grasp.
To say it’s too early,
is because whether it is Chinese painting or oil painting, Gu Weijing is still far from achieving a level of mastery and ease.
Truly those masters who can enter the Tao through painting,
can naturally transcend the obstacles of established habits.