All-rounder Artist-Chapter 826 - 783: Art Exhibition (Part 2)

Inside the exhibition hall.

The temperature set by the air conditioning is comfortable, feeling pleasant against the skin.

Displayed on the walls all around are the works exhibited at this art show, each professionally framed.

Luo Cheng and Qiu Yu walk ahead.

Bystanders attending the exhibition follow behind, chatting quietly as they move.

No one wants to explore alone; everyone tacitly follows the two masters as if by doing so, they can share the same insights as the esteemed duo.

Luo Wei stays on the periphery, not moving closer to the front but making faces at her father instead.

"Why would Mr. Qiu come here?"

Luo Cheng ignores Luo Wei and stops by the first painting, casually starting a conversation with Qiu Yu.

Qiu Yu brushes her hair aside, "A friend asked me to come and have a look, mentioning there was a very impressive painting here. Though it seems she herself has been delayed."

"A remarkable painting?"

Luo Cheng raises an eyebrow, "Now you’ve piqued my curiosity. If they’re all on the level of what we’re seeing now, then this trip today would be a waste."

As he spoke, Luo Cheng nodded towards the first painting.

Qiu Yu glanced at the signature and the artist’s introduction next to it, then casually laughed:

"So it’s a work by Ren Feifei; no wonder the style looked familiar. The flaws are the same as her previous work—too much craftsmanship."

The two spared no criticism for the first painting!

Even with a crowd following behind, these two big shots didn’t hold back at all, discussing as if no one else was there.

Behind them.

The crowd’s expressions brighten at the uninhibited comments of the two big shots!

This is the very reason they wanted to follow the two masters!

They can listen closely to the evaluations the experts give these artworks!

But no one expected the two titans to be so direct—the first painting they saw was immediately criticized.

You have to know.

The author of the first painting, Ren Feifei, is also a painter with considerable fame in the Chinese painting circle.

Of course.

These two big shots hold extremely high status, akin to venerable figures in the realm of Chinese painting, and are certainly qualified to critique the works at this exhibition.

If we were to translate this status into the music industry:

Luo Cheng and Qiu Yu would be the equivalent of maestro-level composers.

And Ren Feifei, along with the other artists at this exhibition, would be akin to ace composers in the music industry.

Moving on.

The two proceed to the second painting.

At this moment, the exhibition organizers send someone over:

"We didn’t expect Mr. Luo and Mr. Qiu to grace our exhibition. Your presence truly honors our event. If you wouldn’t mind, may I offer you a guided tour? You can also ask me any questions you may have."

"Sure,"

Qiu Yu replies with a smile.

Luo Cheng does not refuse either.

The employee from the exhibition brightens up, "In that case, allow me to introduce this painting. It’s by Mr. Yuan Liu, and the theme concerns landscapes..."

"No need for introductions,"

Luo Cheng interjects abruptly, his words unsparing, "I don’t care who the author is. The ink shades are so heavy—are you worried that I’m nearsighted and won’t see them clearly?"

The employee’s face stiffens.

Are you here to cause trouble?

Criticisms fly in the employee’s mind, but they dare not voice them aloud, instead looking helplessly at Qiu Yu for rescue.

"The painting is too deliberate,"

Qiu Yu sighs and moves towards the third painting.

Employee: "..."

Subdued, the employee watches as the works at the exhibition receive harsh critique from the two honorees, but the crowd is thoroughly enjoying the commentary!

"I like Mr. Luo Cheng’s straightforwardness!"

"Mr. Qiu Yu didn’t spare the painter’s feelings either."

"Why spare feelings? Chinese painting is all about skill!"

"If artists only knew how to flatter each other, that would be truly dull."

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"Yuan Liu’s painting is indeed not up to par."

"Ren Feifei’s work, as Mr. Qiu said, is indeed too craft-heavy."

"..."

Actually, Luo Cheng is usually even-tempered, but today he’s disgruntled, so his words are less diplomatic than usual.

Perhaps it’s because this exhibition includes works by Shadow?

Because of his daughter, Luo Cheng currently holds a very poor impression of that Shadow!

"No need to introduce this painting, it must be Shi Xiang’s work, right? He likes to combine elements from oil and Chinese paintings—a fine concept that he utterly botches in execution."

Affected by his mood, Luo Cheng critiques the third painting directly.

"There are aspects to commend, yet, overall, it is as you say,"

Qiu Yu adds, sensing Luo Cheng’s foul temper but not minding it.

As long as the critique is reasonable, that’s what matters.

They continue onward.

Continuing their critiques.

Luo Cheng leads the way today, pointing out flaws without hesitation; no artwork is spared:

"Copying the beauty of nature verbatim, capturing the form but not the spirit."

"Messy; the work lacks focus."

"The muscular lines of the male and female rabbits are a bit rigid."

"Another animal portrait, and this phoenix is not even as good as what my daughter could paint."

"..."

Qiu Yu supplements with explanations at Luo Cheng’s side, but similarly, she doesn’t offer a single compliment.

The employee breaks into a sweat.

If every painting is criticized by these two authorities, the exhibition will be ruined!

There are still two days of visitation ahead!

Fortunately, Luo Cheng isn’t here to wreck the show, nor is he nitpicking. His critiques are emotional, true, but they are substantial.

When a painting titled "Tiger Descending the Mountain" appears in front of Luo Cheng, he finally halts his critiques.

"This is interesting."

He examines it for a moment and murmurs softly.

The employee, hearing this, feels like someone who has miraculously survived a catastrophe and hastily says:

"This is a work by Mr. Yulian. This painting..."

"No need for an introduction, we know,"

Qiu Yu says with a smile, "Yulian has improved rapidly. He also painted tigers last time and even won an award—pity though, his excessive pursuit of vigor made him overlook the vividness of the image."

"He deserved that award,"

Luo Cheng interjects," But it was also because his competition that time consisted of clueless painters."

Qiu Yu nods.

Luo Cheng nods, a rare smile playing at his lips:

"But Yulian’s work today is really not bad. Though he still tends to deliberately pursue pomp, it should still be considered the best of today’s exhibition. Mr. Qiu, the friend that mentioned a striking painting at this exhibition—were they referring to this one?"

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"I’m not sure."

Qiu Yu frowned. Was it this painting?

She didn’t think this painting was good enough to warrant a personal visit.

Her friend might have just average painting skills, but her aesthetic appreciation and taste were definitely at the Master Level.

"Then let’s keep looking."

Luo Cheng moved forward again, even Yulian’s painting had only held his attention for three minutes.

The paintings that followed made Luo Cheng furrow his brows even more.

Just when he was about to lose patience and ask his daughter directly where Teacher Shadow’s painting was,

a work up ahead suddenly caught Luo Cheng’s attention.

"Huh?"

While Luo Cheng was drawn in, Qiu Yu also saw the painting!

An unusual light flashed in her beautiful eyes!

It was a landscape painting.

In the painting, there was a pale yellow flower.

At the top of the stamen, a butterfly was flapping its wings.

A Butterfly’s Love for a Flower!

The composition was incredibly simple, yet it instantly attracted her and Luo Cheng!

"Such a unique color combination, the flower isn’t intricately carved out, but it has a sense of natural perfection as if the scent of flowers is wafting out of the painting!"

Qiu Yu couldn’t help but exclaim.

A stir went through the crowd behind them.

Previously, Luo Cheng spoke while Qiu Yu added comments.

This was the first time Qiu Yu had taken the initiative to comment on a painting, and she started with such high praise!

What surprised everyone even more was that Luo Cheng actually nodded:

"This butterfly seems like it’s about to fly out of the frame. It’s not easy to achieve such lifelikeness with traditional Chinese painting!"

"Better than Yulian’s, right?"

"Hmm, it seems I made conclusions too hastily. Today’s best should indeed be this ’A Butterfly’s Love for a Flower’."

Luo Cheng rarely showed a smile.

For a while.

The commotion within the crowd became even more pronounced!

Everyone started to scrutinize the painting carefully.

And upon closer inspection, many were captivated!

It wouldn’t be right to say this group was just there to show off.

If it were just for show, they wouldn’t have come to the exhibition on such a hot day.

They really had a bit of appreciation!

And those with a bit of appreciation could of course discern the extraordinary aspects of this painting!

"Such a beautiful painting!"

"This butterfly is so lovely!"

"How did they achieve this? The flower is sketched so simply, but it doesn’t feel rushed, it has a particularly natural feel."

"Impressive!"

"Better than Yulian’s ’Tiger Descending the Mountain’!"

"Teacher Luo Cheng is right, this must be the best work of the day!"

"Who painted this?"

"There’s an artist’s introduction below!"

"..."

Each painting had a small introduction below it, but the print was small and one needed to get quite close to read it.

This was to ensure that the audience saw the painting first and not the artist’s name, to prevent overshadowing the artwork.

"Everyone!"

The staff finally saw a glimmer of hope again!

He hadn’t expected such a simple painting to draw such widespread praise.

What a relief!

The exhibition was saved!

Seeing everyone curious about the artist and wanting to get a closer look, the staff finally puffed out his chest:

"No need to look closer, everyone, this ’A Butterfly’s Love for a Flower’ is a piece by Teacher Shadow, who is a comic artist. This is the first time he has publicly presented his own traditional Chinese painting!"

The staff’s voice was loud and proud!

As if he was sharing in the glory!

The two big shots’ high praise for the painting had given him enormous confidence!

However.

Just as his voice fell, the surroundings went silent!

Swish, swish, swish!

Countless expectant faces froze on the spot!

Even some wondered if they had misheard!

Unfortunately.

They hadn’t misheard.

Some had already seen the small print in the artist’s introduction section:

The word "Shadow" revealed under the painting wasn’t hard to recognize.

This was Shadow’s work!?

Had they just praised this piece!?

Luo Cheng’s face suddenly turned bright red, shifting his feet uncomfortably, actually taking a half step back!

In his eyes, a trace of embarrassment surfaced!

For a moment, the scene turned exceedingly awkward!

"..."

Why did it suddenly become so quiet?

The staff member was somewhat bewildered by everyone’s reaction.

Had he said something wrong?

"Pfft."

From a distance, Luo Wei finally couldn’t hold back her laughter.

She had been observing her father’s expressions since everyone arrived at ’A Butterfly’s Love for a Flower’.

And at this moment, she finally saw her father looking deflated!

Of course.

She also noticed the unpleasant faces of the group of painting enthusiasts who had previously criticized Teacher Shadow so harshly.

That’ll teach you to underestimate my teacher!

Luo Wei couldn’t help feeling a little smug inside!

Actually, Luo Wei’s family had Lin Yuan’s early creation ’Six Shrimps’, but she had never shown it to others, since her teacher had expressed the wish to keep a low profile in the past. But now, it obviously wasn’t necessary.

She would show her father after he returned home!

His reaction would definitely be even more interesting then, because this ’A Butterfly’s Love for a Flower’ was not such a big deal for her teacher!

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