The Versatile Master Artist

Things are valued when they are rare.

Gu Tongxiang knew that the way to make a painting technique most valuable was to be its founding master and turn this technique into a prominent subject in the art field.

For example, Picasso’s Cubism, Turner’s Romanticism, or Renoir’s Impressionism.

Secondly, the fewer artists who know this technique, the better.

Ideally, no one else could use it, holding a unique craft that no one else in the world possesses.

When Mr. Cao Xuan called Cui Xuanyou for advice, Cui Xuanyou would rather forgo Mr. Cao’s favor than to guide Gu Weijing, thereby creating another rival for his son Xiaocui.

Regardless of the likelihood, Gu Tongxiang also did not want to share the spotlight directed at his grandson.

Even if he was the grandson’s grandfather.

Even if he firmly believed that Gu Weijing’s future technique would be much more successful than his own.

The old man would still prefer to give up his dreams rather than let such a thing happen.

"Uh... it’s not a big problem. This unique painting style is already in high demand, and there are so few people who practice it that adding one more like Master Gu won’t be an issue. As long as Gu Weijing’s painting skill elevates to the level of a true master, it’s actually a case of greater benefits in the long run."

Hanks explained with a smile.

Hanks is a professional agent; his career planning for artists is more thorough than the artists themselves.

In his ideal scenario, the career paths of Gu Weijing and Gu Tongxiang should not be competitive but rather staggered.

As long as Gu Weijing’s technical level significantly surpasses Gu Tongxiang’s tier.

With the marketing power of Ma Shi Gallery, they could create a tiered sales strategy for the grandfather and grandson duo’s artworks.

It’s like the sales gradients between ultra-luxury and luxury brands under the same group, such as Maybach and Mercedes-Benz, or Rolls-Royce and BMW, using the same engines and chassis components.

Gu Weijing’s target clients are primarily old-school senior collectors.

Gu Tongxiang, on the other hand, targets urban middle-class investors who cannot afford Gu Weijing’s version of "Fusion Painting" as an alternative.

There is also an implicit sales gradient in Impressionism at auction houses.

If you can’t afford Monet, you can buy Renoir or Manet.

Those who can’t afford them might consider Pissarro or Degas.

And then there are the relatively cheaper Morisot, Seurat, and the lone female Impressionist master, Miss Mary...

This is Hanks’ very long-term vision, entirely built on the premise that the name Gu Weijing will become valuable enough in the future.

It’s too early to say it now.

"No, if you don’t require certain types of techniques from me, just let me express myself freely. As long as Weijing agrees, I would be more than happy. If you still want me to feed off my own grandson, I’d rather not sign."

Gu Tongxiang stubbornly remained like a mule.

"Old master..."

Hanks helplessly tried to enlighten Gu Tongxiang, whose stubbornness was as thick as an elm tree, but Gu Weijing interrupted him with a smile.

"Grandfather, don’t worry. The inventor of the New Style Painting was the predecessor Lang Shining, I am just an imitator. If you tell others this is my technique, it will invite laughter. Mr. Ma Shi is right; since there’s already the brilliance of Lang Shining ahead, it won’t hurt to have one more of you. Besides—"

Listening to his grandfather’s words earlier,

Warmth constantly surged in Gu Weijing’s heart.

How blessed are parents around the world.

Only a truly caring elder would be so considerate about someone’s future, fearing any delay to his progress.

"—I am also actively trying to incorporate new artistic elements into the painting methods of the New Style Painting school to form my own artistic style, and I won’t spend too much time simply imitating. So you can confidently sign the contract."

Gu Weijing smiled.

Blindly imitating the predecessors’ techniques would at most only turn one into a substitute for a "Lang Shining" of the new era.

To climb higher in the peaks of art, he must create the features unique to Gu Weijing.

Shengzi had already pointed out a clear path for him.

The Finger Smudging Method, though a small change in painting details, was undoubtedly a very good start.

"Incorporating new artistic elements to form one’s own artistic style—is this really true?"

Before Gu Tongxiang could say anything,

Hanks’s eyes were already scanning over like two bright searchlights.

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[Since I was young, I grew up hearing various artistic terms. By the time I could call my dad and mom, I already knew Michelangelo, Raphael, and Giotto. At four years old, when the maid took me for a walk on a pony as tall as the tables across the garden’s lawn, I could already speak words like Rococo, Baroque, and "Academy of Athens."

I recall that every time such words came out of my mouth, the guests at the estate would raise their glasses frequently towards my father, exclaiming "Your Excellency Count, your son will be just like you, becoming the next patron of the arts," and my father would laugh heartily.

But I still didn’t understand what art truly was.

On Christmas Eve in 1876, my aunt took me to attend Mass at the Melk Abbey. That day, Emperor Joseph I also came. I have no recollection of it. I only remember, for the first time in my life, standing beneath the church dome and looking up with awareness.

The crystal chandeliers emanated a platinum glow, and everything on the dome was an unfathomable mystery. Athena drove the Lion War Chariot through the boiling clouds, and I could almost see the flash of light from the distant sky where the wheels met the clouds, and the air within the church was suffused with the combination of pinewood and paint smell, which I mistook for a strange spice from Mount Olympus at that very moment.