The Versatile Master Artist

Chapter 90 - 80: Human World’s Clamor and the Threshold for Entering U.S. Art Exhibitions_3

[Painter: Thomas Santisima (Venezuela), Researcher at the National Museum of Fine Arts of Venezuela]

[2012 "Life"·Singapore International Art Biennale, Master Group Finalist]

Gu Weijing saw a short text at the link below, seemingly a review given by the curatorial committee for this painting at the time.

[The artist’s line expression is not precise enough, and the oil painting technique appears immature. However, the painter portrayed the spirit of struggling with the sea and the tenacious vitality of the fisherman. The artist depicted the tough-guy spirit of battling the ocean from an observer’s perspective, giving the judges a unique marine view in the whole painting.]

[Hence specially selected for inclusion in the master group exhibition.]

"If it’s not painting skill, then it should be impressive emotion; at least one of them should be present."

Gu Weijing nodded.

Painting skills can be improved with experience points, while emotion relies on life experience. Having good emotional expression is always an essential path for a great painter.

Emotion is even more important than pure technique, and the third step of his system task is also related to emotion.

[Linked Quest: First Glimpse - Professional Path (Final Task)]

[Current Task: Complete a work of any subject with a size of more than 8 inches and achieve an emotion rating of at least Heartfelt.]

[Ultimate Reward for Linked Task: One random Legendary Level skill]

"Legendary Level skill?"

When Gu Weijing first saw this skill explanation, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t tempted.

Although the specific content of the reward is unknown, the mere mention of "Legendary Level" hints at the skill’s preciousness.

The painting insights of Menzel, which allow him to thrive in the illustration world, are merely Perfect Level. He can hardly imagine what kind of skill is worthy of being labeled Legendary by the system.

However, as the final reward of this linked task, its completion difficulty is much higher than the previous tasks.

Whether it’s about raising a skill to Tier One Professional or fulfilling Nutshell’s commission numbers, those are tangible requirements.

An 8-inch size is not large, but it can’t be finished in a few minutes. Sustaining passionate emotion for a long time... Gu Weijing just started figuring out some methods at the orphanage.

"If only the system could give me more tasks."

With that thought,

he reopened the panel and focused on a specific line in the skill details under [Calligraphy and Painting Identification Skill].

[Special Effect Two (Soul Sensing): In the process of appreciating a master’s work, there is a probability of triggering a limited mission. Note: Appreciating works with an aesthetic level far above your current can cause extra mental burdens, so use the skill cautiously.]

"In the process of appreciating a master’s work, there’s a probability of triggering a limited mission?"

Gu Weijing suddenly realized something—he seems to be able to proactively trigger tasks now.

But what kind of work qualifies as a master’s work?

After pondering for a moment, he found Tang Ning’s "Hundred Flowers Painting" by Professor Lin Tao’s junior apprentice on his phone.

He activated the skill.

This time, the mental impact was much stronger than when appreciating the watercolor.

He felt a tingling in his brain, a sensation like electricity throughout his body, his head aching and heavy, a slight hallucination occurred, feeling like countless flowers were blooming and withering on him.

[Artwork Name: "Hundred Flowers Painting"]

[Chinese Painting Techniques: Level 7, Tier One Grandmaster]

[Emotion: Heartfelt]

"Tier One Grandmaster, which means above Tier Three Professional Level 6 is Tier One Grandmaster, but where is my task?"

Gu Weijing rested with his eyes closed for a few minutes. Once the tingling on his head slightly subsided, he examined the panel before him.

Painter Tang Ning’s painting itself had a flashy quality. Although he was a beloved direct apprentice of Mr. Cao, it wasn’t surprising that the emotion value only reached [Heartfelt] rather than a higher rating.

As Gu Weijing speculated, this Chinese painting was the most skillfully executed work he had seen so far, reaching Level 7 and entering the master’s realm.

Unfortunately.

No new tasks appeared on the panel.

"Either it’s a probability issue, or it just entered the master’s level, insufficient to trigger a task."

Unwilling to give up, Gu Weijing again applied the Calligraphy and Painting Identification Skill to a simple commissioned work he did under Menzel’s skill enhancement on Nutshell.

Probably due to it being his own work, there wasn’t any mental impact this time.

However, the image didn’t deconstruct into line structure in his mind like other works.

Only a dry panel emerged.

[Artwork Name: "Untitled Internet Illustration"]

[Sketching Technique: Level 9, Tier Three Grandmaster (Limited Experience)]

[Emotion: Simple Works]

"Still not enough. Is it because the content is not complex, or because paintings done under Menzel’s skill enhancement lack my own soul?"

Gu Weijing licked his lips.

He wasn’t willing to give up just yet and had a very bold idea in mind.

Gu Weijing was a bit unable to contain his curiosity now.

He not only wanted to trigger the system’s task but was also curious to see how the system would evaluate the greatest painters in human history.

Gu Weijing had a few options in mind.

Either take a cab to the mural restoration site now and look at Elder Cao’s restored "Buddha Worship and Protection Painting."

That’s the most top-tier artwork he could access at the moment.

For online digital pictorials, he leaned more towards his favorite Impressionist works.

Though works like "Mona Lisa" or "Night Patrol" are already part of popular culture.

As a personal preference, Gu Weijing favored the Impressionist style.

Huaxia’s traditional culture influenced Japanese painting, and Japanese painting influenced Impressionism; East and West blended, the world’s art trends mingling on a small oil painting canvas.

Especially the representative Impressionist painter, Ray Arno.

This painter underwent early training in painting Oriental ceramics and traditional screens, reflecting a cotton-threaded effect similar to ceramics in his works.

Warm, passionate, and bright.

Fulfilling all his imaginings of the beauty of oil paintings.

Choice between the two,

Gu Weijing knew that appreciating works from painters of this level would impose a significant mental burden.

He could only choose one, and even one painter might not be completely analyzable.

After much hesitation, he chose Ray Arno’s representative work.

No other reason, curiosity killed the cat. Though Elder Cao was a living painter whom he might become an apprentice to, he had plenty of time to listen to Elder Cao’s painting insights.

He just wanted to leverage the system’s convenience to transcend a century and experience an Impressionist masterpiece.

"The Dance at the Moulin de la Galette, Ray Arno."

Gu Weijing entered the words.