The Versatile Master Artist

Chapter 63: Chapter 47: A Girl’s Thoughts

Gu Weijing sat on the bed.

The scent of sandalwood and osmanthus, mixed from the girl’s post-bath fragrance, lingered at the tip of his nose, almost making him forget his reason for being here—until Mona spoke first.

”Gu Weijing, come and see my new holiday assignment. I’m planning to include it in my portfolio for my university application this year.”

Mona carefully moved her easel from the balcony.

Their oil painting teacher required everyone to complete an oil painting assignment during the holiday, with no restriction on the subject.

Gu Weijing’s painting of a Mercedes-Benz car model was already completed by the time he got the panel. Miss Mona’s oil painting was also almost finished, only needing some final touches.

Judging by Gu Weijing’s current perspective, one or two more layers of paint would make it a wonderful piece.

She had painted a self-portrait.

In the oil painting, she wore a blue dress, with the hem floating, and behind her was the flowing Irrawaddy River against the setting sun.

Mona stood by the easel, pointing at the painting frame beside her, and asked playfully, ”Am I pretty?”

Gu Weijing looked at the oil painting on the easel, pondering for a moment.

Burman’s anatomy could be applied not only in sketching but also in oil painting. Even though his oil painting experience points weren’t high, he was still able to give Mona some pointers.

”Clothes.”

Gu Weijing said.

”What do you mean?”

”The portrait is wearing clothes.”

”So...otherwise?”

Mona crossed her arms, not entirely pleased, ”Am I crazy for painting a nude self-portrait for a holiday assignment, or are you crazy?”

”Or...are you flirting with me?”

Mona tilted her head at Gu Weijing, her eyes teasing, ”After school starts, I’ll ask Gu Lin what you’ve been up to during the holidays; you’ve become bad so quickly.”

”No, no, no, you’ve misunderstood me...”

Gu Weijing realized what she meant, and his ears turned red as he waved his hands, ”I meant nothing else, just talking about the oil painting.”

”Alright... I want to see how you evaluate my portrait. But I’ll warn you first, since I’m applying for an art academy this year, my father hired a private tutor for me over the winter break. This painting was done under their guidance, so if you can’t give a good reason...”

Mona found it amusing watching Gu Weijing’s flustered state.

She knew he was an introverted person and wanted to tease him a bit.

”...I’ll give you a hard time.”

She licked her lips and made a fierce face.

Miss Mona didn’t appear fierce; rather, she looked playful.

”Why did I say the problem with the figure lies in the clothes?”

Gu Weijing lightly pointed at the half-finished oil painting with his finger, his fingertip following the curves of Mona’s figure.

The girl was someone who liked to dress up, and she obviously put a lot of thought into the blue dress she wore in the painting.

The silver buttons, maroon scarf, and the texture of the flying skirt hem were all wonderfully portrayed.

”I think when painting a portrait, regardless of the medium—be it comics, oil painting, watercolor, or prints—the core focus is always the person.”

”Your clothes are painted beautifully, so much so that they overshadow the subject.”

”When painting a clothed portrait, especially when not painting a king or general, the most important thing is that clothes are just covers on the body. So all its folds are determined by the muscle curves inside it.”

Recalling the anatomical insights he gained, Gu Weijing patiently explained.

”When carefully observing and depicting clothes, you also need to present the body’s structure inside. Especially when painting a girl in a dress, it’s essential to show the figure’s torso and limbs as much as possible.”

”Do you remember the oil painting ’My Daughter Georgia’?”

Gu Weijing gave an example they had studied with their professor in oil painting appreciation class.

’My Daughter Georgia’ is a classic portrait created by the artist Naomi Alexander for her daughter, now treasured in the Ludwig Museum of Germany.

The teacher had once focused on the brushwork and techniques of this painting during class.

Back then, much of it was incomprehensible to Gu Weijing.

Now, with Burman’s anatomical techniques and reflecting on the portrait in that oil painting, everything made sense.

”What about the painting ’My Daughter Georgia’?”

Mona asked.

”In that painting, the clothes were treated as a simple and relatively elongated form, guiding the viewer’s gaze upwards to the person’s face.”

”Before that, the artist had demonstrated enough muscle lines and rich expressions on the face to capture the viewer’s attention.”

Gu Weijing used his finger to illustrate the folds from the painting on the bedsheet.

”The outline and folds of that blue dress in the painting primarily serve to make viewers feel it is comfortable while also outlining the character’s waist, hips, and knees.”

”Remember what the teacher said? The artist pursued an adequately smooth feel of the clothes to minimize distracting attention from the figure’s lines, which is why the painting was made on wood rather than the commonly used canvas.”

At the time, Gu Weijing had doubts about Naomi Alexander’s choice of substrate. Compared to regular canvas, wood was inconvenient to transport and store, and the paint’s adhesion was poor.

In hindsight, everything was to highlight the figure.

”In this self-portrait you painted, not only is the clothing color too vivid, but there are also too many decorations. All those lace and buttons make the dress seems like it has its own life under the brush, which isn’t a good thing—”

Gu Weijing pointed to the girl’s limbs and neck in the painting.

”You see, this causes the head, hands, and feet, not covered by clothes, to not naturally connect to the body, making it look like a doll assembled.”

He concluded, looking at Mona.

”Sounds almost convincing.”

Mona wrinkled her nose.

She laughed and said, ”If my private tutor hadn’t checked the sketch and thought the painting was fine, you might have fooled me.”

As her portfolio’s main piece, before Mona painted the oil, her father hired a senior as a private tutor to guide her with the sketch.

The person was a student at the Royal College of Art in England. Being in one of the world’s top 30 art schools, their painting skills had to be outstanding.

Since the senior found no issues with the painting, Mona didn’t take Gu Weijing’s words seriously.

She wasn’t entirely serious herself, just wanting to tease Gu Weijing.

”Your senior...”

Gu Weijing opened his mouth, wanting to say more.

”Alright, alright, considering you’ve been talking so much, I’ll let you pass. You’re only seventeen this year, so even if you said something wrong, I wouldn’t laugh at you.”

”Here’s a tip: when a girl asks if her portrait looks good, she’s not seeking your opinion, just your praise.”

Mona waved her hand, moving the easel back to the balcony.

”You still haven’t told me why you came to see me this time?”