The Versatile Master Artist

Chapter 93 - 81: The Impressionist Painting Saint and the Tabloid Press (Part 3)

Certain unsigned works with unclear origins are actually quite cheap, ranging from a few hundred US Dollars to one thousand dollars, since the market is not interested in them at all.

Gu Weijing’s grandfather made his fortune by trading in old paintings.

Of course, Gu Weijing himself didn’t have much hope, just trying his luck. If he couldn’t find good replicas of authentic works, he would have to settle for replicating digital albums.

On the way to the calligraphy and painting market by taxi, Gu Weijing happened to see the news report about "The Moon."

Such third-rate newspapers made Gu Weijing feel very uncomfortable, even a bit nauseated.

Especially the vulgar jokes about Miss Elina’s physical defect, this English rogue style sparked a wave of anger in Gu Weijing’s heart.

Generally, small painters endure this kind of bullying.

Whether you like it or not, Van Doorn is a long-established veteran in the art circle.

What can you do if the other party calls you, a web illustrator, an artless monkey?

Retaliate?

Then you would indeed have a feud.

Honestly, they are mostly targeting that judge lady, insulting Gu Weijing was incidental.

The smartest thing to do is undoubtedly to pretend not to see it.

After a while, they will forget about you.

In the painting circle, offending seniors is an unwise move, especially when offending big shots who are active in both fashion and art.

Once the other party speaks out, you might lose many opportunities to sign with famous galleries.

But Gu Weijing doesn’t like it that way,

He wasn’t planning to reveal himself as Detective Cat, so if he still acted timidly and hesitantly, the spirit Elder Cao spoke of that should reside in a painter’s heart would dissipate.

Moreover, although he thought that female art critic named Elina had a bit of a princess attitude, after all, she got into this mess because she spoke up for him.

Gu Weijing wanted to do something.

Think about it, then do it.

Gu Weijing opened Twitter, he registered his Twitter account after Detective Cat became famous and noted on the Nutshell store that this was his only real Twitter.

For no other reason than if he didn’t register his official account, it wouldn’t be long before a bunch of counterfeit Detective Cat accounts would spring up online, swindling people.

He @Van Doorn’s Twitter, and wrote a response: "Seems like even monkeys know what beauty is, too bad you don’t. A rogue can only mix with rogue magazines, a perfect match."

After writing this tweet, Gu Weijing still felt unsatisfied.

Matters of the art world should be addressed with art.

He thought about it, then opened WhatsApp to contact Mr. Tree Sloth.

"Mr. Tree Sloth, I would like to participate in your next online art salon, is that possible?"

He typed on the taxi.

The Old European social circle has a famous saying — "If you want to see true masters, go to a salon. Here is a heaven for the learned, a hell for the ignorant, it can make you famous overnight, or ruin your reputation forever."

Salon is an old-fashioned literary club.

People discuss royal scandals here, recite Byron’s poetry, study porcelains from the East, discussing painting trends.

A literary-themed salon is essentially a small art appreciation event.

From painters to novelists, from Monet to Flaubert, everyone in the art world considers it an honor to give long speeches in high-brow salons.

When listening to podcasts in the past, Gu Weijing thought Mr. Tree Sloth was a very old-fashioned gentleman, so old-fashioned that he still regularly hosts online art salons now.

The so-called art salon is an old-style art appreciation meeting conducted online by Mr. Tree Sloth.

Fans of Mr. Tree Sloth often submit electronic photos of their works to the podcast’s official Twitter, hoping for masters to review.

Mr. Tree Sloth would dedicate one episode every two months to appraise these artworks.

Sometimes Mr. Tree Sloth himself does the reviews, more often he invites some well-known art critics and exhibit curators to critique the artwork’s painting skills and shortcomings.

Such a rare opportunity for a master to critique one’s work is very valuable for podcast fans.

With the blessing of Calligraphy and Painting Identification Skill, Gu Weijing thought it was a good opportunity to show his aesthetic attainments.

A monkey might pound piano keys mechanically, but could never judge the quality of the music.

"This month’s guest judges for the art salon should include the director of the Taylor National Art Gallery."

Unexpectedly, only a few minutes after Gu Weijing sent the message, Mr. Tree Sloth replied.

He originally thought this was a polite refusal.

Which is normal.

Although Mr. Tree Sloth seems very concerned about him, all guests on his podcast are undoubted big shots in the art circles with great prestige, his level is still a bit off.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Tree Sloth continued typing: "It’s not impossible to add an extra spot for a guest judge, but why do you suddenly want to participate in this issue of my art salon?"

Across the Great Ocean, Anna also saw Gu Weijing’s newly updated tweet and pursed her lips: "I saw your new tweet, it’s due to ’The Moon’, isn’t it? That report isn’t aimed at you."

"I dislike the vulgar tone of the newspaper. Miss Elina got into trouble because she praised me, I should do something."

Seeing this reply, Anna was a bit pleased, but more worried.

"Tabloid papers are like this, she wouldn’t mind. Delete it, offending people like Van Doorn is no good for you."

"No girl wouldn’t mind such vile defamation in the papers." Detective Cat replied stubbornly.

Anna shook her head helplessly.

The regulation against sexual harassment abroad can be quite strict, but it depends on the person.

If a politician spoke like this, he’d be out of office by tomorrow.

But society demands less morality from art workers, especially those in the visual art fashion circles.

The boss of the trendy brand who made the problematic BLM T-shirt for Kanye, despite being involved in a slew of sex scandal lawsuits and publicly sexually harassing female reporters during interviews, is still thriving.

If you call him an old rogue, then Van Doorn is at worst guilty of inappropriate language.

As for "The Moon,"

The newspaper merely placed a few nude model portraits next to her picture, because they are artworks, this doesn’t even qualify as restricted material under publication review standards.

"I’ll see who the real monkey is,"

After typing, the taxi just stopped in front of a painting and calligraphy warehouse in Yangon.