Yunding Ranch

Chapter 288 Practice Painting
Lu Li was drawing the story behind the ring in his mind, but Evelyn didn't think too much. She carefully rolled up the oil painting, stuffed it into a long tube, and handed it to Lu Li, "Keep it safe."

While talking, their appetizers had already been delivered. Lu Li ordered creamy lobster bisque, and then chose seafood bisque soup for Evelyn. These two appetizers were served after Mike Lu passed the restaurant to his son in 2002. The new dish created by his son has now become the most famous appetizer at the riverside restaurant.

A small cup of soup, no more than five tablespoons, but the taste is really wonderful, rich and refreshing, retaining the sweetness and freshness of the seafood, but without the slightest fishy smell, the smooth and mellow taste is simply too wonderful, a Accidentally, the tongue almost swallowed it.

One mouthful, one mouthful after another.In a blink of an eye, a cup of soup has bottomed out.

Sure enough, the Michelin three-star reputation is well-deserved.

Looking up, Lu Li saw that Evelyn had also finished her soup. She wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin, and said contentedly, "Every time I come to the riverside restaurant, this soup always makes people want to put it down."

"I guess this is where the charm of a chef lies." Lu Li also nodded in agreement.Although he has always been a staunch supporter of Chinese food, he occasionally tastes other foods and feels completely different.

"I always thought that my grandfather didn't finish that painting, but now it seems that he finished it after all, but stayed in China forever." Evelyn turned the topic back again.

"But, why the Chrysler Building?" The truth was revealed, but Lu Li was left with more and more doubts, and on the contrary, he became more and more puzzled. "He is in China, he should at least draw a picture of the Great Wall."

Lu Li's small complaint made Evelyn smile brightly, and nodded in affirmation, "But I think, maybe it's because of his lack of ability? Or, he wanted to paint a portrait, but the environment Not allowed? It was a turbulent time, you know."

Lu Li paused for a moment, and collected his thoughts, "I don't really know much about painting, but I can tell that this finished piece has more mature techniques and bolder colors. What's the reason for this? ?”

"Your point of view is correct." Evelyn recognized it from a professional point of view, "but I have no way to analyze the reasons. There are many possibilities. For example, he encountered extreme emotional outbursts, extreme joy, extreme sadness, Extreme pain and extreme panic may cause the painting style to suddenly become bold. In other words, changes in physical conditions may also lead to subversive changes."

Lu Li fell silent. No matter what the reason was, this Chrysler Building was likely to be the witness of Evelyn's grandfather's last moments, which made people feel a little sad.

"What's wrong?" Evelyn noticed Lu Li's pensive expression and asked with concern.

Lu Li showed a big smile, "No, I just think that painting is really a very magical thing, isn't it? It contains all the emotions of the painter, joy, anger, sorrow, joy, life, old age, sickness and death."

"This is the charm of art." Evelyn picked up the red wine on the table, took a sip, and showed a satisfied expression, "It's the same with fine wine and food."

Lu Li suddenly thought of Tony who was traveling in Europe. The wine he brewed must be full of sunshine.

"By the way, I brought you something." Evelyn put down the red wine, "I'm not sure if you're interested, but I think..." Evelyn said as she moved the official document next to the chair Picking up the bag, "I think, maybe you will be a little curious about my grandfather's other paintings."

Lu Li had noticed the briefcase just now, but he didn't think much about it. It was probably just the contents of Evelyn's work meeting in the afternoon, but he didn't expect that it actually contained Hans' paintings.

"After all, you still carry my grandfather's painting with you, which means you like it very much." Evelyn said with a smile.

Lu Li looked at Evelyn's sparkling eyes and couldn't help but choked. This was a mistake.He was just thinking about showing this painting to Evelyn, but he forgot that he came to London for a reason, how could he carry an oil painting with him?But now she can only make a mistake and pretend that what Evelyn said is the truth.

"As an amateur, my best choice is the commemorative one. I think, when I come to London, I always need something to show off." Lu Li's self-mockery made Evely smile , the corners of his mouth raised.

Afterwards, Evelyn opened the briefcase and took out a small stack of sketches.

They don't look like the works of artists, they are just amateurs' practice works. The white drawing paper has been slightly yellowed, and the corners have been fluffed up. It looks a little old, a little fragile, and even a little messy.

Lu Li took the painting and began to look at it carefully.

As Evelyn said, the content of these paintings is very complex, including still lifes, figures, landscapes, buildings... all kinds and varieties, and almost no items that are particularly good at.

Generally speaking, top painters have their own content, at least most of them are like this. It is not an easy task to be proficient in different types of paintings.

It can be seen that Hans should be practicing constantly, and his level is also uneven. Some paintings are of higher quality, some are mediocre, and some paintings are halfway through.Even if Lu Li is a layman, he can tell.

"This is my grandmother." Evelyn pointed to the painting in Lu Li's hand. The painting was only half-drawn and not finished. You can see a profile with long golden hair and facial features. The lines are a little rough, but the neck and shoulder lines are clear, and there is a faint charm, which makes people unable to help but describe the demeanor of the real person, "Unfortunately, this painting is not finished."

Lu Li noticed a signature in the lower right corner, "Eva Strelo."

Looking up at Evelyn, she cast a questioning gaze, and Evelyn said, "Eva, my grandmother's name."

"Oh, I thought she drew this painting." Lu Li raised his eyebrows and said half-jokingly, "I didn't see your grandfather's signature."

"It's in the hair." Evelyn pointed, and Lu Li immediately noticed it. Without a magnifying glass, he could see the two letters "HS" arranged vertically, hidden in the unfinished hair." It's funny, I thought, painters like to sign, you know, they design their own signature and they leave their mark."

"Maybe, he knows that his strength is not that high. Leaving his signature will become a joke." Evelyn shrugged and complained nonchalantly, which made Lu Li laugh.

Behind this painting, there are some indoor group portraits, for example, in the corner of a prom, two young girls are imitating the appearance of adults dancing; for another example, in a classroom-like room, a little boy Fell asleep on the table.

No wonder, no wonder Hans copied Degas's painting, he really has a soft spot for such scenes.

"Who is this?" Lu Li saw another portrait. He was curious because it was a complete image, and it was really special among a bunch of half-finished sketches.

This is a sketch of a man. He is sitting on a wooden chair, looking down at the books on his knees. He has slightly curly hair. The shadows cast by the light make the lines of his face look extraordinarily gentle, with deep eyes. He concentrated on the book, as if he couldn't hear the noise of the outside world at all, and even the brush strokes seemed softer.

"Uh... I don't know either." Evelyn looked carefully, then shook her head, "In many of my grandfather's paintings, there are quite a few models, male, female, old, and young. He likes to do group portraits, he likes to do portraits."

Evelyn looked again, and then remembered, "Wait, I recognize it, this is a model that my grandfather likes very much, in the sketches, there are many portraits of him, with different poses and different poses. Shen Yun. Grandfather captured his eyes very well, and it became more lively. I think he should be grandfather’s friend, and he is a very good kind.”

Lu Li lowered his head, looked at the lower right corner, and found a familiar name: Albergo Cohen.

Lu Li's movements couldn't help but paused, and he froze on the spot. He thought he had read it wrong, so he carefully identified it again, and it was still accurate. Reflexively, he asked, "Does your grandmother know him? "

"I don't know." Evelyn shook her head. "Grandpa has too many paintings, and most of them are practice works. Grandma packed them up and gave them to me. I rummaged through them, but there was nothing particularly interesting. Art value is more commemorative."

Evelyn took the painting from Lu Li, "I've actually been curious about who he is. The spirituality of this painting is very special, as if during the creation process, my grandfather was very inspired."

After looking at it carefully, Evelyn couldn't help but nodded, expressing her affirmation, "My grandfather passed away when my father was very young, and he doesn't remember much about his grandfather. Some of the little stories I know, It's what my grandmother told me."

Afterwards, Evelyn put the painting on the table, "However, this is a normal thing for artists. If they meet their muse, their creative inspiration will continue. Maybe he is the grandfather's muse." What about Stan." Evelyn said half-jokingly, and after she finished speaking, she chuckled twice.

Lu Li was a little dazed, but there was a guess in his mind, a bold but outrageous guess, even his own first reaction was to deny this guess.This is really ridiculous.

However, Evelyn noticed that Lu Li's smile was a little forced, and his eyes were slightly dazed. She couldn't help but frowned slightly, and asked worriedly, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Looking up at Evelyn, Lu Li was a little unsure whether he should tell Evelyn his speculation, after all, he was only guessing, and he was not sure whether Evelyn wanted to Know the truth of this "assumption"—maybe, things are not what he imagined at all?

(End of this chapter)