The Romance of a Young Painter

Zhou Nianjiu said, "What a coincidence."

Shen Guangji said: "Unfortunately, I only came in when I saw you inside, can you sit down?"

"Of course." The other party's calmness made him feel very comfortable, and Zhou Nianjiu readily agreed.

Sitting facing each other to eat, the two inevitably saw the contents of each other's dinner plate, the same dishes, but Zhou Nianjiu served with rice, and Shen Guangji's staple food was steamed buns.

Shen Guangji smiled and said: "It seems that we can form a meal partner without any problem."

Zhou Nianjiu also laughed.

After the two finished their meal, Shen Guangji invited Zhou Nianjiu to sit at the nearby water bar.

Shen Guangji said: "I started paying attention to your paintings three years ago, and I really like the feeling in your paintings. It is clean, pure, and there is a wonderful chemical reaction between light and air."

Zhou Nianjiu said: "Fortunately, it was three years ago, Mr. Shen, if you have seen my earlier paintings, you will be shocked."

"What? Could it be that you painted ghosts and goblins?" Shen Guangji laughed.

Zhou Nianjiu knew that he was joking, and continued: "Let's put it this way, if the canvas is a vase, then I just put whatever flowers and grasses I saw in the vase before, and finally the vase was full, but I couldn't see it anymore. .”

"It was like that at the beginning," Shen Guangji nodded knowingly, "but these are basic skills. Many people say that drawing requires talent, but I think talent alone is far from enough. Only by capturing it and presenting it without reservation, the aura is truly valuable. As far as I know, there is no shortcut in painting. You can only become an aura catcher if you put in 12 points of effort, keep practicing, and practice again. "

Zhou Nianjiu was touched by these words.

At the same age of 15, I only won the Moore Award in China, but Shen Guangji's works are already on the shortlist for the Turner Award-but such a person known as a genius said: Diligence is the real truth. secret.

Noticing Zhou Nianjiu's thoughtful look, Shen Guangji asked: "I can see that your basic skills are very solid. When did you start painting?"

Zhou Nianjiu said: "I have been holding a brush since I can remember. I should have really started to learn painting when I was four years old. At that time, there was a painting teacher in the kindergarten. She inspired me."

Shen Guangji said: "Is it possible that the other children were playing around at that time, and only this child was sitting there quietly drawing, so he caught the teacher's attention?"

Zhou Nianjiu said in surprise, "How did Teacher Shen know?"

Shen Guangji said: "Guess."

Zhou Nianjiu sighed, "That's a good guess."

It's really beautiful and simple, Shen Guangji thought to himself, the reason why he can guess so easily is because he also started to learn painting in this way when he was a child.

Seeing Zhou Nianjiu relaxed, Shen Guangji raised a question in his heart: "I noticed that you haven't published a new work in the past year. Is there any reason?"

Shen Guangji asked very directly, and there was no false concern in his gentle tone.

This made Zhou Nianjiu let go of his defenses, and expressed his recent problems and his thoughts in an attitude of asking for advice.

Shen Guangji listened carefully, thought for a while, and said, "If you were an ordinary high school student, it would be a bit late for you to yearn for the unknown world."

Zhou Nianjiu held the cold drink cup in his hand, he knew that he was slow in some aspects.

Just when he was feeling embarrassed, he heard Shen Guangji continue: "But as a painter, your awakening of consciousness and the depth of inner exploration have far surpassed those of your peers. Zhou Nianjiu, are you interested in coming with me to Central America?" Academy, where you will be exposed to professional theoretical knowledge, and at the same time have a better creative atmosphere.”

"Ah?" Zhou Nianjiu was taken aback.

Shen Guangji said: "Actually, I had this idea when we met last time. I have a recommended quota for admission without examination. If you want, you can come and report directly next semester."

Central America's free entrance quota?

This big stuffed pie was smashed suddenly, Zhou Nianjiu was a little confused.

The recent half-month review made him understand that the college entrance examination is not easy, and the conversation with Shen Guangji just now also let him know that the professional art academy is not a closed ivory tower, and the exam-free quota provided by the other party is like an attractive fruit placed on the table. In front of my eyes, it is mouth-watering.

Shen Guangji could see his hesitation, it was obviously a big gift, but the recipient was not willing to do it, and others would probably say that Zhou Nianjiu was ignorant of flattery, but Shen Guangji didn't, he just drank tea quietly.

After a while, Zhou Nianjiu said: "Mr. Shen, I need to think about it carefully. I can't give you an answer right away."

Shen Guangji stretched out his hand: "Give me the phone."

He recorded his mobile phone number, called back and returned it, saying: "Then I'll wait for you, this quota will be valid until school starts."

Zhou Nianjiu said, "Thank you, Teacher Shen."

He knew that the cautiousness just now was not unreasonable to Shen Guangji who offered the opportunity, but the other party did not show any displeasure, but instead showed understanding and generously reserved the spot for him.He had experienced this attitude from his deceased mentor, Qin Que, but Qin Que treated him with connivance and pampering for the younger generation, while Shen Guangji easily made people ignore the difference in status and age between the two, just like The feeling of being placed on an equal footing and given the utmost respect made Zhou Nianjiu very happy and a little eager to try.

So he said: "Mr. Shen, I read your "Guiyan" this morning, and I was a little confused."

Shen Guangji said: "Let's listen."

Zhou Nianjiu thought about it for a while, and said, "I think the relationship between Zhiyuan and a girl is very inconsistent."

Shen Guangji leaned forward slightly: "Continue."

Zhou Nianjiu didn't notice the change in the other person's posture, he was trying to express what was in his mind in words.

"At the beginning, I was attracted by the back view in the painting. The agility of the girl makes people feel the vitality of life. Whether it is a slim figure or a swaying skirt, I can feel the praise of beauty, but later my sight is not Consciously falling on the paper kite, it is the opposite of the girl, hanging upside down, struggling, it cuts off the whole picture, I feel the breath of destruction on the paper kite, and even wonder if it represents something dying.”

Shen Guangji was shocked at first, and then showed a thoughtful expression.

Zhou Nianjiu calmed down the fluctuations in his heart, and only then noticed Shen Guangji's appearance. He was worried about over-interpreting, so he asked, "Mr. Shen, did I get it wrong?"

"No, you're right," Shen Guangji emphasized, "it couldn't be more accurate."

He said: "Yan's return is actually not a return, but a return, a departure."

Zhou Nianjiu asked in puzzlement, "Why did you paint such an ominous theme?"

Faced with the confusion directly expressed by the other party, Shen Guangji did not choose to keep it. He said, "Because my muse is dead."

Muse is the source of inspiration for artists, just as Merlin was to Manet and Tegura was to Gauguin. They light up the artist's artistic life with truth and beauty, and leave immortal images on the canvas.

The death of the Muse is equivalent to the death of beauty.

Although Zhou Nianjiu has never experienced the magic of a muse, he also knows what losing a muse means to a painter. Surprised, he asked cautiously, "Is it the girl in the painting? She passed away?"

"How come, the person in the painting is not dead." Shen Guangji was amused by his simple and cautious expression, and the depression in his heart was also diluted a lot. He reflected on himself and said, "Strictly speaking, the muse I'm talking about is actually It's not her, but an image I extracted from her, but recently some changes in her have disturbed me, and even the image that once inspired me to create has gradually lost its appeal."

"That's why there is "Swallow Return"?"

Shen Guangji pretended to be helpless and said: "Yes, I thought the expression was subtle enough, but I didn't expect you to see through it."

Zhou Nianjiu responded, "Maybe I'm better at subtraction."

Subtraction?

This word touched Shen Guangji, because he named his muse the opposite of subtraction: addition.

Shen Guangji is used to doing addition, and enjoys the rich and joyful tone brought by this addition process. When painting, the nature in his eyes is not nature itself. A sudden burst of intention.Addition——his muse was born in this process. This illusory companion has accompanied him for many years. Because of her, Shen Guangji created several works that are praised as having souls.

But now, this muse named Addition is like a container filled to overflowing and expanding to the point of bursting, ugly, distorted, and unsightly.

Shen Guangji was very curious about what Zhou Nianjiu's subtraction would be, so he said, "Tell me about your subtraction."

Zhou Nianjiu thought for a while, and decided to talk about the whole process of subtraction.

The attempt of subtraction in painting was when he studied under Qin Que for a year. Under the inspiration of Qin Que, he began to exercise his observation ability in a directional way, trying to discard the appearance of things, and strive to highlight a touch of its true nature. And that authenticity is so clear and transparent, enough to cleanse people's hearts, so there is the later award-winning work.

And earlier, Zhou Nianjiu had mastered subtraction in life.

God is extremely fair. While endowing Zhou Nianjiu with talent, it only provided a shabby whiteboard outfit in terms of EQ. So even though Zhou Nianjiu was very cute, he was rejected by the whole class in the end.At first, he thought that all he met were strange children, but later he discovered that the strange child was actually himself.

Zhou Nianjiu, who is only six years old, realizes that he is a different kind, but he is not ashamed of it. This kind of self-confidence stems from the fact that he has the most protective family in the world.So after figuring it out, Zhou Nianjiu frankly accepted himself as a strange child, and as he got older, he learned the subtraction in life, that is to abandon those things that are incomprehensible and impossible to ask for, and cherish those things that can be touched and born. Resonant.

Shen Guangji listened quietly, and found a striking similarity in Zhou Nianjiu's description of his childhood.He also had the same experience, but it was a pity that he was regarded as a problem child by his tense family members, and he had to go to the hospital for psychological treatment on a regular basis, with white concrete walls, endless pills, and formulaic endless questions—he was very concerned about The desire for color started from that time.

When Shen Guangji fell into memories, Zhou Nianjiu unconsciously cast his eyes on the other person's face.

Shen Guangji's expression was calm, and there was an all-encompassing tranquility in his dark brown eyes, but in this tranquility, although it was very subtle, Zhou Nianjiu was keenly aware of a touch of disharmony.

"What is that, the thing in your eyes?"

Zhou Nianjiu found himself expressing his doubts just like that.

Shen Guangji came to his senses, perhaps because he had a common experience, he didn't hide from Zhou Nianjiu: "That's sadness." He didn't explain why he was sad, but Zhou Nianjiu had vaguely guessed something.

Zhou Nianjiu apologized for his abrupt question, and then said: "Mr. Shen, sometimes I feel that part of my perception of emotions has left me with subtraction. To a certain extent, I am a deadly dull person." Man, in a situation like just now, I should not ask anything."

Shen Guangji shook his head with a smile, he had already answered Zhou Nianjiu's question, which showed that he would not bother with him at all, and then he said: "In exchange, come and be my model now, let me try what I learned from you subtraction."

He stretched out his fingers and drew in the air: "Simple, sharp, direct... ho, blue eyes."

Zhou Nianjiu subconsciously lowered her head and blocked it with her hand.

"Don't hide, I found out the first time I saw you," Shen Guangji said with a smile: "You also paint, you should know not to underestimate the eyes of painters."

Zhou Nianjiu let out a bewildered "ah".

Then he heard Shen Guangji say softly: "It's like the sun shining into the deep sea, it's really beautiful."