Chapter 154, The Truth of Art, Harvest

On Sunday morning, Jiang Zhe got up very early.

Because he had created a satisfactory work yesterday and received a reward, he slept well and was in a good mood. He planned to start the sketching homework today.

He rushed to school to have breakfast, and then went to the class studio with his tools.

Five very hard-working students have already started painting.

"Jiang Zhe is here." Fu Min saw Jiang Zhe and took the initiative to greet him.

"You come so early to study!" Jiang Zhe responded.

"Time is too tight. Four days is definitely not enough." Mou Xing responded while painting.

Jiang Zhe admires these hard-working students in the class very much. No matter whether it is Saturday or Sunday, they will come to the studio as long as they have time.

However, what he didn't know was the pressure these classmates were under.

Everyone already knew that Jiang Zhe's works would be kept at the school, and the school had recommended several students to participate in the college students' joint calligraphy and painting exhibition. For the other students who were competitive and ambitious, it was a shame not to be selected. After this class started, I worked harder.

Some people speculated that Jiang Zhe was slacking off because he did not rush to start drawing his homework, but most people felt that Jiang Zhe was making careful preparations.

Today, a few students who arrived at the studio first saw Jiang Zhe come to the studio on Sunday for the first time and start adjusting the easel, and they felt a sense of urgency again.

Jiang Zhe adjusted the position, prepared the tools, and fixed the drawing paper.

After the rest, his mentality has been adjusted. He has forgotten the honors and burdens, maintained a freshness for still life, and naturally had the urge to create.

He fixed several sketches next to the easel for reference, adjusted his mood, and began to draft with a very light pencil.

In order to make the work more outstanding, he planned to organize the objects to be painted into a diagonal composition. This kind of composition with a strong sense of form can highlight the contrast between density and sparseness.

Jiang Zhe drew the rough outlines of many objects and adjusted the composition.

The objects he was going to paint included a blue-and-white porcelain water bottle, a glass, a metal pen holder, a pile of folders, a roll of newspapers, and some office stationery. These things were damaged, but all had distinct marks of the times.

He chose these materials because he wanted to paint the characteristics of the times. Yesterday's experience made him realize that he currently likes an aesthetic and light style of painting. If he insists on painting the deep feeling and the passage of time, it would be a waste of time.

With a creative direction in place, what remains are issues of technique and portrayal, which are easy to solve.

Jiang Zhe repeatedly adjusted the outline and proportion of each shape. His previous learning and copying played a subtle role at this time.

His use of the brush is no longer confined to the purpose of summary; his lines are accurate and have the agility of a sketch.

When several classmates saw Jiang Zhe start to paint, they came over to watch.

Although Jiang Zhe's painting is still in the draft stage, the composition and shape give the students a different feeling.

Whether it is the concise and general lines or the composition with a strong sense of form, it all shows its uniqueness.

After Jiang Zhe finished the draft and paused for a moment, he began to carve from the corner of a roll of newspaper.

The newspaper had creases and stains, and judging from the title, it was a local newspaper from September.

He boldly changed the shape and position of all objects according to his own ideas to make the objects meet his creative requirements.

Jiang Zhe did not copy the details of real objects, but created the reality of the picture or art according to the needs of the picture. Where it should be precise, it can depict the printed words on the newspaper; where it should be vague, it is boldly chosen.

He became more and more comfortable with the painting, and many details were completed almost in one go. In the process of depicting, he also left some room for adjustment later.

As the morning went by, part of the newspaper had been carved out on Jiang Zhe's screen.

Because the other images had not been drawn yet, the whole painting was like a roll of newspaper floating on a white wall with pencil lines. Before Fu Min went to eat, she came to observe Jiang Zhe's painting again.

So real! She was amazed and couldn't help but get closer to watch. She found that Jiang Zhe did not create the reality of the original depiction, but used the reality of the artistic picture to create a visual impact.

Jiang Zhe saw Fu Min and others getting ready to eat and felt hungry too, so he packed up his tools and went to eat with a few classmates.

After dinner, several people agreed to go back to the studio to continue their creation.

The following week passed quickly. Jiang Zhe spent all day on Thursday and half a day on Friday creating still life sketches.

On Friday afternoon, Teacher Tian came to the studio again.

He instructed the students on how to adjust the painting, walked behind Jiang Zhe, stopped, and found that Jiang Zhe's painting had changed greatly since the last time he saw it.

In the upper right corner of the picture is a nearly blank, blurred background, from which one can vaguely sense the depth of the space. The main body of the picture is a long, rectangular table with various items placed on it. The hazy background and the items on the table form a strong contrast between density and sparseness.

The tabletop looks like an untidy desk. Although the window in the foreground is not visible in the picture, a few rays of sunlight are cast on the table. Through the outline of the object receiving light, the appearance of the window can be felt.

There are some interesting details on some objects that reflect the characteristics of the times: the patterns on the blue and white water bottles, the highlights and rust spots on the metal materials, and the folds and stains on the newspapers. These details make the pictures look particularly real.

Teacher Tian feels that this work is a beautiful creation when viewed from a distance and ingenious when viewed up close.

Although he doesn't like this light-hearted style of painting very much, he supports the act of daring to create.

He said to Jiang Zhe, "It's a good painting. It's a big change from the last time I saw it. The style of your painting is a bit like watercolor."

Jiang Zhe said: "I want to paint in a transparent and crisp style, consistent with these industrial products."

Mr. Tian nodded: "This is a good idea, but there are a few things we need to pay attention to. The painting is too detailed..." He pointed out the parts that he thought were inappropriate.

After thinking about it, Jiang Zhe began to make adjustments.

Teacher Tian reviewed all the students' work and asked everyone to pause. "I have reviewed the exercises in this class. The overall quality has improved greatly compared to the homework in the previous class. It can be seen that the students have put in a lot of effort.

Wait a moment, and arrange the works as before. In addition, your teacher Hu will come to teach you about sketching..." He gave some instructions to the students, announced the end of the get out of class, and left the studio.

At the appointed time, the students arranged their works and cleaned up the studio.

Teacher Hu came to the studio to comment on the sketching assignments.

"Everyone insists on submitting sketch assignments, but many students' sketches have not changed much, so we need to do some training."

After commenting on the shortcomings of the homework, she began to talk about several training methods, such as forcing oneself not to use an eraser, and using a pencil as thick as a match head to outline the image on the smallest possible paper, how to train the ability to summarize, how to train observation, and hand-eye coordination.

Teacher Hu talked about several training methods, assigned corresponding exercises, and arranged preparations for the next class.

Most students found it difficult to hear the new sketching requirements.

Jiang Zhe thinks it is a good challenge. For example, the professional course assignment this time allowed him to learn how to make adjustments and complete his creation when he was not in good condition without the help of the system.

It was the weekend again, and he wanted to relax for two days, but he received a call from Yuan Xiaohan.

Yuan Xiaohan told Jiang Zhe that she borrowed the dance studio on Saturday afternoon and asked Jiang Zhe, Lan Xin and another classmate to do sketching.

Jiang Zhe thought this was a good schedule and agreed.

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(End of this chapter)