Miss Elena glanced at the phone screen.

I deliberately zoomed in and looked at the "Peony Picture" in the hand of the elderly painter.

Ordinary works.

To be honest, the main audience for Chinese painting is concentrated in the Asian market.

Among enthusiasts in Europe and the United States, there are two extremes.

In the Sinology circles, or among the elite groups in Europe, such as the relict paintings of the Song and Yuan dynasties and the Ming and Qing dynasties, they all unexpectedly had their own fanatical and die-hard fans.

The works of Zheng Sixiao, the painter that Gu Tongxiang admired the most, were once prominent in the painting world.

In the field of European studies of Oriental art, he was not necessarily less discussed than in the Eastern Xia.

The sorrow of the Southern Song Dynasty when the mountains and rivers were broken and the prosperity was no longer there.

Or the late Ming Dynasty's "Peach Blossom Fan" as the representative of "the general trend is no longer possible, all the gentlemen look at the spring" with a tendency to self-destructive depression and sadness.

and watched the "naïve and stupid" Americans occupy the right to speak in the Western world, so they had to retreat to their own small buildings and reminisce about the years of Prost's pen in the middle of the night, reminiscing about the sorrow of the traditional old aristocratic families in the pre-war golden age when a meeting with their cousins and writing a few letters could decide the situation in Europe.

Across time and space, a wonderful chemical reaction was created.

For the past half century, it has been surprisingly popular in galleries.

But those who don't like it really don't like it, and even feel that there is no way to understand it.

It's the same as many Dongxia people think that abstractionism, Dadaism, and pop art are all money laundering.

Anna once heard a North American painter swear at an academic symposium that the black-and-white paintings that cost tens of millions of dollars in the Dongxia art market are completely unreasonable, and are definitely money laundering by capital manipulation.

Miss Elena is actually neither.

She really had relatively little contact with the art philosophy of Chinese painting, and her main personal interests stayed in the field of oil painting and watercolor.

Chinese painting did not show her a special attraction unlike any other.

Nor would she be fearless for the ignorant to speak arrogantly.

Just like Anna said to Cao Xuan.

Be in awe, but also keep your distance.

Gu Tongxiang walked the Lang Shining style of Western French heavy color painting creation type.

Compared with traditional Chinese painting, Miss Elena used to be able to get its beauty, artistic style and art philosophy.

The eclectic, each drawing on its own and constantly transforming the context of painting is also in line with Anna's imagination for the future development of the art world.

It's like Impressionism.

It's like Picasso.

Therefore, the moment she saw the online auction launched by Mars Gallery for the newly signed Gu Tongxiang on her computer for the first time, she immediately decided to ask Secretary Eliot to buy the painting for 5,000 euros.

Even if the other party is not a detective cat.

Such a style of painting is also to be encouraged.

However, if you are not afraid of not knowing the goods, you are afraid of comparing the goods.

I just had an in-depth discussion with Cao Xuan himself, and I have seen "Wisteria Flowers" as beautiful and quiet as Tchaikovsky's waltz with my own eyes.

Let's look at the works of this Gu Tongxiang.

is like a forty-year-old aunt wearing heavy makeup and trying to catch the last tail of her youth, and she bumped into a quiet and elegant beauty with natural beauty.

In addition to the visual impact of the painting style at the beginning, the eyes are bright.

Almost all the way around.

After a closer look, I suddenly felt bored.

"That's right, it is not easy for an old painter in Yangon to sign in to the Mars Gallery, which is not easy. From any point of view, it cannot be compared with the young people who Mr. Cao Xuan values so much, and it is normal to compare. ”

Anna laughed in her heart that her nerves were too sensitive.

She didn't know why she had to click on this news to see it.

However, with this in mind, Miss Elena never turned off the screen.

Instead, the slender eyebrows are slightly wrinkled.

It's weird.

Obviously, looking left and right, the "Peony Picture" is a mediocre work.

She just felt weird, though.

As if something shouldn't appear at all, the contrast with the surrounding environment is great, and the elements that are out of place appear in this photo.

So much so that it is like Wu Daozi's eighty-seven immortal pictures.

There is an antique fairy with a Doraemon head.

Hidden in a long scroll, the color palette is the same as the surrounding silk, and you don't even realize what's wrong at first glance.

But the subconscious mind is telling you that something strange is mixed in with the photo.

Miss Elena looked at Gu Tongxiang's peony for a long time, but she didn't see why.

She unshrunk, restored the photo to its original size, and saved it in an album to study later.

Suddenly.

Anna's eyelashes blinked.

She re-enlarged the photograph in disbelief, not the "Peony Picture" in the artist's hand, but the background behind her.

After getting the inscription written by Cao Lao to his grandson.

Although Gu Tongxiang was once as beautiful as Fan Jinzhong, his face almost cramped with laughter.

But he hasn't lost his mind yet, and he didn't dare to put "Cao Lao said that my grandson is outstanding!" The loudspeaker shouted in front of the calligraphy and painting shop, which made everyone all over the world know.

In case the swaggering Cao Lao is not happy.

Wouldn't it delay the future of your precious grandson!

Old Man Gu hung the words in his study, and specially made a glass cover to protect it inside, and used it as a background to make a dynamic in a very coquettish manner.

The mentality is similar to that of a shy and half-closed door...... Geezer.

The sister on the other side looked over, looked over!

Just look!

If you understand, I'll let you hehehehe.

You can understand it yourself, but I didn't take the initiative to show off my grandson!

He overestimated Anna's level of appreciation of calligraphy.

For foreigners, painting is a big step up from film abstraction, and calligraphy is a bigger step than painting from abstraction.

Anna didn't recognize at first glance what was written in the big, vigorous letter, but she understood...... Finally, draw the stamp on the paper.

She didn't know Gu Weijing's seal, nor did she know the collection seal of the [Jinghe Zhai Secret Notes], which was rare in Cao Xuan's paintings.

But the last big seal of the [Cao Xuan] in the seal body, it is impossible for Miss Elena not to know.

Today, she only watched several hours of documentaries about Cao Xuan.

That private seal is the most iconic private symbol in Cao Lao's works, just like Dali's special floral signature.

[Elliot, please help me check what is written on the big print behind this photo, I am very anxious. 】

Anna selects the photos saved in the album and sends them to her secretary.

Then she seemed to finally relate to the memories in her mind.

Started rummaging up the chat.

Finally.

A message came into view, it was a chat message that Gu Tongxiang once promoted his grandson.

[He may make his debut at an art exhibition this year, I wonder if a collector like you will be willing to pay attention to his works.] I would appreciate some advice from you. 】

[His name is Gu Weijing, and he is eighteen years old this year. 】

Anna exhaled softly.

After reading this message for a long time, I switched back to the photo that Tong Xiang had just shared.

"Is that you?" She looked at the letter.

screen.

The corners of Gu Tongxiang's mouth were hooked high, like a chrysanthemum in full bloom.

——

The corners of Gu Tongxiang's mouth twitched slightly, like a withered and wrinkled old chrysanthemum.

At noon the next day.

In the study on the second floor of the Gu's calligraphy and painting shop in Yangon.

"Repaint, it's been all morning! Let's get serious. ”

The pencil is inserted back into the pen washer, and the water waves shake heavily, as if to show the owner's dissatisfaction with the rotten wood that is difficult to carve.

Ngawang, who was lying on the coffee table next to him basking in the sun, rolled around to make himself sunburner.

I heard a noise on the side.

It lazily swept at Old Man Gu with its amber pupils, and let out a boring "meow" as a contemptuous echo.

The look seemed to say—

Oh, old man, if you paint like this, we Ngawang can't even look down on you.

By the way, the round head stretched out, leaving one or two small tooth marks in the corner of the coffee table.

The raccoon cat is a wild cat owner, known as a husky among cats.

I often get used to grinding my teeth and claws in various places like cardboard boxes, sofa legs, and TV cabinet bases to vent my exuberant energy.

Ngawang was caught by Katsuko Sakai last week and repaired his paws, and the cat strips and canned cat's eyes that he eats daily are added with bone meal and small pieces of freeze-dried raw meat, which can have the effect of grinding his teeth.

It stands to reason that there is no need for additional teeth grinding.

But it is inexplicably very fond of the small coffee table drinking tea in Old Man Gu's desk.

Presumably, this log coffee table can provide the cat with the pleasure of fluttering sparrows on the big tree by the river.

Old Man Gu listened to the sound of Ngawang taking his favorite coffee table and practicing his predatory skills behind him, and his face showed a look of heartache.

"Concentrate!"

Gu Weijing frowned, knocked on the table with his fingers, and criticized his grandfather's ape-like appearance.

"Ngawang gnawed on a broken wooden stake, and he took a serious bite all morning, how can you not have a quiet breath when painting?"

"Broken wood stakes? Just kidding! This is a log craft tea pier specially customized by my Lao Guang customer, and I can use a 15-and-a-half-foot imitation of the Song Dynasty's "Green Bamboo Grass Picture Scroll" facsimile for it! It can be exchanged for twenty pastoral cats like Ngawang, okay? ”

Gu Tongxiang felt that his taste for tea art had been insulted, and suddenly shouted angrily.

Behold.

Gu Weijing looked more dissatisfied than Old Man Gu.

He also counted on teaching the old man to draw and complete the systematic guidance painting task, but it took so long and the progress was mediocre.

"Single-line flat painting, outline flat painting, this is the simplest and most basic content, you painted all morning, just this effect?" He pointed to the rice paper on the table with his finger, "Where is the three-dimensional sense I want?" There is no change in color and shade in flat paint, so it is important to pay attention to a simple and bright, decorative, and use brush strokes to structure, ink layering and contrast between branches and leaves, to draw a three-dimensional sense of the scene. ”

"The nib of the pen should be soft, soft, and flexible."

"What's the difference between this rigid coloring and the color that the printer sprays? You signed a big gallery and consider yourself an artist, do you still demand so much of yourself? ”

It's like a spray of cold water toppings.

Faced with Gu Weijing's well-organized criticism, Gu Tongxiang had to wilt again.

He had to admit that Sun Tzu's accusation was very reasonable.

Gu Tongxiang's old age, compared with the younger generation born in the Internet era, is far more aware of the value and hard-won nature of knowledge.

In the depths of my heart, I also take learning more seriously.

In his time, having knowledge was a privilege, and the opportunity to learn, no matter what to learn, was to be earned with hard work.

Knowledge changes destiny - this is the great truth summed up by countless generations with tears and blood.

The most is that Tong Su is not bullied.

The more remote the world, the more you want to change your fate, the more there are only two ways, either you fight with knowledge, or you fight with your life.

Although Myanmar claims to be 12 years of compulsory education, the truth is that until the 2020s, about 10 percent of the population never had the opportunity to walk through the school gate for a day.

One third of the population drops out of school before junior high school.

Gu Weijing is like this, he is a little transparent at the bottom of the international school, and compared to Sakai Katsuko's family conditions, he is not even a fart.

Miss Sakai may have spent more money on air tickets in the past year than the family's income in the past ten years.

But he and his cousin were able to walk into Dulwich classes and plan to send them to study abroad.

It means that their family conditions, looking at the whole country, can't even be called middle-class.

is a rich young master who has really experienced eight hundred.

And the cornerstone of all this, whether it is from elementary school Chinese painting, learning sketching, studying antique oil painting, and still studying and learning to do micro-business in his sixties, or Miao Angwen, the father who watched Thai TV dramas and learned to provide VIP services to foreign customers and engage in differentiated competition.

In the historical trend of the entire chaotic era, their lives are actually representatives of knowledge changing fate.

Small and not small.

Gu Tongxiang has been very religious about learning opportunities all his life, and being able to sit in school for a day in poverty may mean that his family will have to eat one less meal at night.

The art of painting is passed down from family to family, but it is difficult to obtain any other source of information except for the elders.

I want to ask for some trendy art theories, or find a good Western painting teacher to give me some advice.

You may need to carry your family reluctant to eat snacks during the holidays, walk for hours, serve tea and pour water to other painters, and sweep the floor to help...... People may not be willing to teach you sincerely.

How big was the art market in Yangon?

Church apprentices, the truth of starving the master, who does not have the same heart as Spiegel.

Therefore, Gu Tongxiang has always told Gu Weijing since he was a child that when learning real skills, don't have self-esteem, and don't care about what others say is ugly.

I am willing to slap you twice and scold you twice, that is kindness, we have to remember it.

The reason is clear.

But after being educated by his grandson today, Gu Tongxiang, who has always regarded himself as a square and majestic patriarch, still has a little uncontrollable face.

"The heart can't calm down at all!"

Gu Weijing glanced at the wooden coffee table under Ah Wang's buttocks, and then looked at the SLR camera that Gu Tongxiang was hanging next to the hanger.

In the most preachy tone that his grandfather used to use, he accused.

"Playthings are demoralized! If we don't finish the coloring process here, we won't end it. ”

"That's already done, okay! As soon as the lips touch the lower lips, who wouldn't say, Aunt Sun, who sells steamed buns, asked me to go to the park to hunt birds, but I didn't go. ”

Old Man Gu was finally filled with anger by his grandson.

Annoyed and angry, ready to pick a child.

"I've been chattering with you all morning, I'm not practicing, you have to be able to draw better, you can paint!"

(End of chapter)