The Versatile Master Artist

However, Palestine is still not a formal member of the United Nations.

When Tel Aviv is hosting exclusive Chanel boutiques and Rolls-Royce dealerships and when luxury brand art fashion shows are in a drunken stupor on Fifth Avenue, just 60 kilometers away, the last thermal power plant has stopped functioning due to fuel depletion in an area surrounded by barbed wire.

There, more than half of the population lives in refugee camps, with only a handful allowed by the Israeli government to step outside the walls each year, earning it the name of the world’s largest open-air prison.

And before 2005, within the isolated zone of the Gaza Strip, there were several reverse-isolated Israeli settlement points.

Thus.

Like onions.

The walls layer upon layer, people looking from one isolated zone into another, gazing across one barbed wire to another barbed wire.

It’s like an endless cycle of history.

Humanity year after year becomes polarized through mutual hatred, pointing guns at each other.

Tens of thousands of children, within the isolated zones designated by the Israeli government, stare lonelily at the sky through the barbed wire and heavy machine gun barrels in bunkers.

If the isolation continues.

If the killings continue.

They will live their lives isolated from the world within these 90 kilometers of walls, with machine gun watchtowers every ten meters, amidst explosions, flames, and the roar of F16 fighter jets.

Some may never even grow up.

Children should be the hope of the world. Here, there are millions of people, including millions of refugees, who live and die in refugee camps, die around hospitals, schools, and relief points from birth until death.

If anyone is willing to learn something from past history, one lesson would be... if a child is born into an environment shrouded by racial segregation, in the land where their parents, grandparents, and ancestors grew up, becoming homeless, displaced refugees, with no schools, no classes, always subjected to discrimination and unfair treatment by those around them, and then finally dying unnoticed under the barbed wire—wouldn’t that be an ineffable tragedy of grief?

He always felt extremely sorrowful.

But whenever he saw the faces of the children, saw their pure and innocent graffiti about the beauty of life on the barbed walls under the shadow of war.

He would think, perhaps, this world still holds some hope.

The extremely fragmented ecosystem might also provide the most intense competitive environment for art.

It’s not only a place with a high degree of militarization but also a place rich in artistic environment.

Within the walls, isolation zones, even on the barracks walls of military bases, are filled with graffiti and paintings.

Uncle Ah Lai even, during his vacation, learned a few sketching techniques from an Argentinian officer in the same language class in another dormitory.

Therefore, he knew quite a bit about art.

Uncle Ah Lai saw the almost complete work on Gu Weijing’s drawing paper. It didn’t look like a sketch, nor like the pen drawings he had seen street vendors selling to tourists.

The lines were much more concise and precise. Every pen-stroke was like a framework, holding the work up from the paper.

The doorkeeper felt like he was seeing himself in the mirror when he saw Gu Weijing’s drawing paper.

Somewhat spirited, yet somewhat desolate.

Two emotions that should conflict were skillfully blended, like ice enveloping fire, with fire burning within the ice. A wealth of emotions, like water in a sponge, wrung out from the paper, rushed into the viewer’s heart during the gaze between viewer and artwork.

The self in the painting seemed to be smiling, seemed to be crying, initially joyful at first glance, yet sad upon closer inspection, and ultimately leaving only loneliness after careful reflection.

Uncle Ah Lai had heard that Da Vinci’s ”Mona Lisa” was known for its layered emotions.

Some people could see joy, some viewers could see sorrow.

Countless musicians and writers used the perception of this famous painting as inspiration to create numerous artworks.

Uncle Ah Lai had never been to France, nor had he had the opportunity to face this legendary famous painting in the Louvre to discern its truth.

However, the doorkeeper found such a feeling in the strokes of the seemingly yet-to-mature high school student.

It was as if his entire life was condensed and imprinted on this small piece of sketch paper.

He reached out to touch the sketch paper but retracted his hand as if electrocuted, fearing to disturb Gu Weijing while he was drawing.

[Work Title: The Gatekeeper ”Ah Lai” of Good Fortune Orphanage]

[Sketching Technique: Level 4 Tier One Professional Painter (2307/5000)]

[Chinese Painting Techniques: Level 4 Tier One Professional Painter (1056/5000)]

[Emotion: Heartfelt (Perfection)]

Gu Weijing put down his pen,

Following the illustration for The Little Prince’s cover, Gu Weijing once again reached the peak of his current drawing emotions.

”Another Heartfelt level of Perfection.”

Gu Weijing looked at the long-emotive eyes he drew on the sketch paper, feeling a bit regretful.

The feeling of his drawing was very good, he even thought it could reach the ”Sweat and Blood” evaluation level.

It seems that the system’s standard for evaluating emotional levels in a drawing is higher than he imagined.

He was still too young, lacking enough life insight.

The story of Uncle Ah Lai, when told to him, was more of a stimulating curiosity akin to hearing an amazing story, lacking the one last bit of heart-penetrating shock needed for ”Sweat and Blood.”

Fortunately,

as soon as Gu Weijing completed this line drawing sketch, he heard the task completion notification in his mind.

[Current Task Content: Complete one hundred character line drawing sketches on different themes. (Note: Among them, more than twenty works need to reach the Heartfelt rating)]

[Current Task Progress—]

[Line Drawing: (100/100)]

[Heartfelt (20/20)]

[Serial Task— Sea of All Rivers (1/3) First Stage Completed!]

A notification for new messages appeared on the system panel.

[Current Task Reward: Knowledge Card— ”Essence of New Style Painting” Lang Shining, available for collection!]