The Versatile Master Artist

Sometimes these painters flirt with the edges of erotic and bloody content.

The assistant girl recently saw a news article; Scotland Yard detectives last week raided and arrested two painters on Nutshell who took commissions for erotic illustrations.

Europe and America have a high tolerance for artistic nudity, but the commissioned erotic works by these two painters involved children, which crosses the moral bottom line of the public,

and basically starts as a felony.

”This isn’t a matter of whether the art is good or not. An invited artist is a kind of privilege. Every invited artist should be an extension of the exhibition planner’s vision. The risk with an Internet illustrator is uncontrollable. Lady Detective Cat, may I ask... have you ever had a resume of participating in large art exhibitions?”

The blonde girl knowingly asked.

”No,” Gu Weijing shook his head.

”Have you ever held a solo art exhibition?”

”No.”

”Have you graduated from a top art school and signed with a large gallery?” The assistant girl pressed on.

”No.”

”So you’re just an internet artist. Don’t be upset, but for professional art exhibitions, we need to ensure that any invited artist has enough aesthetic creativity to understand art trends and the core of art. This concerns the reputation of the art exhibition. Similarly... the exhibition requirements demand originality in the works, which really doesn’t suit an internet anime artist like you.”

”Otherwise, you might try to leverage your strengths by participating in some online anime illustration competitions or something... The Singapore Art Exhibition is for serious art. Of course, no offense intended, personally, I still really like your paintings.”

The assistant girl smiled as she suggested this.

...

At exactly 6 PM London Time.

Curator Tangkis walked into his study.

He was in his early fifties, typical of British men with a receding hairline and a bit of a belly.

”Good evening, gentlemen, Mr. Tree Sloth, Lady Cat. Wow, I really should give myself a code name too, how about Mr. Tiger, we could form a cat zoo.”

He sat in front of the computer, jiggled his belly, and started with a common British cold joke. Then he chuckled to himself.

British old men are internationally known for their love of dirty jokes and cold jokes that nobody understands.

Curator Tangkis was a typical British old man.

In a podcast recording, naturally, he couldn’t tell dirty jokes, but he didn’t mind showcasing his sense of humor in public.

The online chat room fell into a brief silence.

”Sloths aren’t feline, right? I think they’re from the large lazy beasts family,” Gu Weijing responded, puzzled.

He didn’t understand where the punchline of this joke was at all.

Anna realized that Curator Tangkis was telling a joke, but her indifferent personality didn’t care to flatter the narcissistic British old man.

”Curator Tangkis, may we start recording the podcast?”

Anna asked.

”Alright... let’s start then, and cut out the previous bit after the salon recording.” Tangkis waved his hand.

The curator was a bit unhappy.

Holding a high position, whenever he told a joke, regardless of whether it was funny, there would at least be no shortage of people to cheer him on.

For example, the blonde girl, as a personal assistant, was an expert in this field.

If she were in the study now, she’d surely be laughing heartily and timely offering a few words of praise.

”Hello everyone, welcome to this special art salon program. Our guest for this episode is Mika Danks, the co-curator of the British Taylor National Art Gallery, and the renowned illustrator Lady Detective Cat... You can find the keynote document of five artworks from our episode on Apple Podcasts or Mr. Tree Sloth’s Art Criticism. We recommend listening along with the art documents.”

Anna, as usual, read a segment of the broadcast and began the theme of the salon officially.

”Curator Tangkis, our audience all know that you are a senior art curator with great understanding of art. As for the fan-submitted works for this episode, why don’t you share a few words about your favorite pieces?”

Anna first extended the invitation to Curator Tangkis.

Knowing that Detective Cat excels in painting knife oil painting, she actually didn’t have much faith in Detective Cat’s aesthetic abilities.

Letting Curator Tangkis first talk about his views on the five artworks was a safe choice.

Not only because Tangkis was the most senior guest among them, but also because with his groundwork, even if Detective Cat didn’t understand art, she wouldn’t stray too far off.

”Let’s have Lady Detective Cat speak first. I think many audiences are curious about this recently popular internet illustrator more than they are about me.”

Curator Tangkis pursed his lips,

he had no ill feelings toward Detective Cat. As a seasoned curator, he could instantly discern the level of Gu Weijing’s sketch illustration.

The art indeed could be described as outstanding,

otherwise, he wouldn’t have agreed to do a podcast with Detective Cat.

But just as Van Doorn said, whether one can paint and whether one has artistic literacy are closely related yet completely different fields.

A trained monkey can also play the piano.

He didn’t mind starting the conversation, but... since he was unhappy now, he didn’t mind making it a bit difficult for the other party.

”Or... shall I start first?” Anna seemed uneasy.

”It’s fine, I’ll go ahead. I’ll just pave the way, and if there’s anything lacking, I ask for guidance from you two seniors.”

Gu Weijing wasn’t intimidated.