I am a Big Player
Chapter 353 - 351. The Final Painting (Fourth Update)_1

Chapter 353: 351. The Final Painting (Fourth Update)_1

In the midst of this process, Ren He busied himself with matters from Juilliard School of Music every day and then punctually made his way to Richard’s office, where he would sit motionless, deep in thought.

And Richard kept quiet in his own inner room, silently waiting without disturbing Ren He.

The scene, were it to become known, would probably astonish many—the thought that Master Richard would quietly wait as a junior slowly conceived a painting!

But Richard did just that and from the bottom of his heart believed that Ren He’s painting was worthy of such patience.

On the seventh day, Ren He suddenly stood up, selected a much larger canvas from the side, and fixed it onto a solid board so that unlike a canvas stretched on frame, there was no slight elasticity; it wouldn’t matter if the painting was small, but the canvas he had chosen this time was as tall as a person.

The difference between oil painting and watercolor is significant—watercolor dries very quickly, leaving no room for second thoughts.

Oil painting, by contrast, is layered, even allowing for thick applications, or completely covering the original work with another painting.

Some artists, dissatisfied with their work, might even scrape off a section to repaint it.

Its bright colors, strong saturation, and resistance to fading give it an immense pliability.

But Ren He had never intended to make any changes during the painting process, otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent so long sitting motionless.

After Ren He had finished applying the base color with his brush, he sat back down, maintaining his quiet state as he waited, surrounded by his oil paintings—some of which, having been quickly completed, were set aside by Richard to dry in the shade.

An oil painting might sometimes take years to create, not just due to waiting for the layers of paint to dry, but also because of continual refinement.

Practice works often being completed in a single day is quite normal. If they were products for sale, the fastest ones would still need 3–5 days. Ren He’s intentions, however, were different: firstly, he didn’t plan to sell those paintings; secondly, they were merely a means of emotional release; and thirdly, he had skipped many steps in the process, his skill level being entirely sufficient to do so.

In the course of this, Richard identified an issue—Ren He hadn’t even planned on making a preliminary sketch, meaning he had no intention of creating an initial draft to establish a rough composition.

Even Richard himself often made preliminary sketches since what one imagines in the mind does not necessarily translate to expected results when actually painted.

Many people experience this phenomenon: the sound of their voice seems pleasant in their head, but when recorded, it seems less attractive.

The brain’s miraculous nature cannot be overstated—often, one conceives something very beautiful, so perfect in one’s own view, but in reality, it’s far from it.

And now, Ren He was not making any preliminary sketches at all; he was prepared to draw directly onto the canvas.

Richard’s usual practice was meticulous—he would make a sketch on parchment paper as large as the canvas, and once the line and position were corrected to the final effect, he would poke a series of holes along the lines—which were evenly spaced—then overlay the parchment on the canvas, and sprinkle charcoal powder on the front. The powder would leak onto the canvas through the holes; after removing the sketch, the canvas would be left with a series of black dots.

But Ren He was different; he never worked with preliminary sketches...the sketch existed in his mind.

This time, Ren He started slowly, and painted slowly, making just a little progress each day, then patiently waited to continue the next day.

However, Richard had noticed that starting on the third day, Ren He gradually picked up speed, the colors on the canvas started to brighten up, the contours, and shapes formed by the oil paints began to reveal a strange charm, but even now, Richard still had no idea what exactly Ren He intended to paint.

On the fifth day, with no classes at Juilliard School of Music, Ren He came early to Richard’s office, where he stood silently before the canvas, seemingly immersed in his own world.

At the campsite at 6,000 meters above sea level on Mount Everest, watching the sunset fall every day, Ren He felt so utterly alone.

No one could understand him, even An Si thought he was being too reckless, constantly telling him that his decision to summit Mount Everest this time was unwise!

He sat on that large rock as if he was gazing at the end of the world.

He worried about Ren and Mrs. Ren opposing him, and even to this day, he dared not divulge his true dreams to Su Ruqin, Yang En, Ren, and Mrs. Ren.

Ren He seemed to have returned to his previous life, where he walked the path of eSports while everyone around him told him that eSports were as dangerous as floods and beasts.

Even his closest friends urged him to turn back.

Back then, how he wished he could tell everyone that this was his dream, that he didn’t want to give up. But at that time, he lacked the boundless courage, so he shrank back.

In this life, he played extreme sports, and everyone thought playing extreme sports was courting death, he didn’t dare tell his family, didn’t dare tell his mother-in-law, didn’t dare tell many people, because he feared they would stop him from pursuing extreme sports like they had tried to stop him from eSports in his past life.

However, at this moment, there was someone who had traveled thousands of miles, trekking all the way to Nepal, then entered the Himalayas alone, waiting in place for the next team when she couldn’t keep up with the team, and finally stood before him under that sunset just to tell him: others may not understand you, but I do.

In that moment, Ren He felt the sunset on the horizon possessed an infinite magic, it was gentle and supple.

Suddenly, Ren He sprang into action, his colors meticulously mixed even using his own arm as a palette, his speed reaching a point that even old Richard struggled to imagine.

Richard watched in amazement as the figure of a girl rapidly emerged on the canvas, with the orange glow of the sunset reflecting on her, radiantly beautiful beyond compare.

It seemed incredible, oil paint was gentle, its forms required patience to outline, but with every stroke of Ren He’s, the colors settled into place as though they were the result of thorough contemplation.

Yes, indeed, the result of thorough contemplation, after brewing for a full five days, then in just the span of six hours on the fifth day, the entire painting revealed itself. It was at this moment that Richard fully realized that Ren He’s painting skill was in no way inferior to his own.

This was a Master Level realistic oil painting!

The girl in the painting had a smudge on her face and wore a red jacket, which was also a bit dirty, her soft hair appearing especially disheveled in the mountain wind of the snowy peaks. The light of the sunset cast a base layer, making her look like an angel coming to save the ’lonely.’

It was such a girl, who should have appeared haggard, yet carried a stubborn and firm smile.

Looking at Yang Xi on the canvas, Ren He seemed to hear her say again, "I don’t care about anything, I don’t worry about anything, after learning that you came here, I rushed home to grab my passport to join you. With no guide, I could only follow the Sherpa people’s group, but I fell behind and got separated from one group and had to wait for the next. I’ve crossed countless rivers, traversed countless canyons, climbed over countless slopes, just to tell you that if you hide things from me again, I will find you even if I have to chase you to the ends of the earth and sea."

"I support your dreams, but your dreams must include me."

Standing in front of the canvas, Ren He was overjoyed, and he softly said, "Thank you for rescuing my loneliness."

In this life, he wasn’t struggling alone, because at least one person was stubborn in supporting him.

...

As per the multitude of rewards, as you wished, another Chapter, another Chapter... so very sleepy...