The Versatile Master Artist

”You’re not in the arts, so I’m not blaming you.”

Jean Arnou sighed, patting his assistant on the shoulder: ”I’m angry because that statement sounds really stupid. I just said that devotion is the second key factor in determining the height of art. Do you know what the first key factor is?”

”Connections? Resources? Effort?”

”Maybe that’s not wrong, but in my heart, I prefer to put the word ’talent’ in the first place. At my level, you’ll understand that once you’ve reached a certain height in art, connections will follow, resources will have their painting techniques whether many or few. Only talent is something that cannot be bought with any amount of money.”

”I gave a speech at the Andersen Award ceremony, talking about how I practiced sketches day and night for six months, wore away my fingerprints, and worked hard for half a year to pass the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris entrance exam. The journalists all described it in their reports as a motivational story that says hard work equals success. Countless kids wrote to me saying they were inspired by my story.”

”But I never told anyone that I also worked hard at playing the violin as a child, yet didn’t even qualify to perform in the children’s recital for showcasing learning progress to parents.”

Jean Arnou plucked the viola strings in his hand, producing an empty sound.

”Mozart could write the symphony ’Bastian and Bastiana’ at age 8, while I struggled even with ’Little Star’ at that age. Was it because I didn’t work hard? No, it was because I didn’t have the talent.”

The old man smiled helplessly.

Jean Arnou didn’t feel it when he was young.

The older he got, the closer he climbed towards the peak of art, the more he could perceive the role talent plays in one’s career.

Especially for someone like him who switched fields.

The unsuccessful violin apprentice Jean Arnou and the master illustrator Jean Arnou are two completely different life stories.

When he learned to play instruments, he was a complete blockhead, demoted to supplement in the violin group, then sent to play the simpler viola. Probably because of the lack of talent, his life’s limit would be performing in a suburban community church or becoming an elementary school music teacher, which is why no tutor ever gave him a tuition discount.

Switching to art, Jean Arnou became the world’s most successful illustrator directly.

A horse that runs like lightning always finds appreciation from a discerning eye.

But good talent is something that cannot be begged for.

”But Detective Cat only drew this one set of painting knife illustrations, while Professor Boggs has been famous for decades. Even with talent, logic should apply.”

The assistant sniffed.

”Some people studied a painting for three years, Picasso glanced at it briefly, spent half a day’s labor, and copied its essence thoroughly, also innovating to create a better work than the original. Some people’s hair turns white while still only being minor painters, yet Raphael completed the chapel’s ceiling painting independently at 17, where does logic apply.”

Jean Arnou recalled being amazed when he first read ’Little Prince’, and couldn’t help but compare ’Little Prince’ to his proud work ’Greenfield Miracle’.

”I truly envy this kind of... completely illogical... talent.”

The old man sighed again.

He turned and looked at his son not far away, whispering: ”Watch, I actually have a feeling, if there’s truly any painting knife artist who can help Tony, it’s this Detective Cat.”