Chapter 147 – Dragonfly Dancing around the Lotuses (2)
“Lotuses are known to remain pure and clean even though they grow out of mud. So it is very important to apply ink lightly when painting lotuses to emphasize on their elegance. Lighten the ink one layer at a time and avoid using heavy ink or colors.”
She started filling in the painting with colors after the outline was completed.
The lotus leaves closer were of a darker color than the ones farther away. The corollas and the buds were traced with very light ink.
HEML 147 – Lotus (may or may not be gongbi.jpg
Picture: Lotus with dragonfly painted in gongbi style
Source: saatchiart.com
“With a silk fan mount, heavy ink will appear very abrupt and will also be difficult to smooth out or make any corrections later on. So patience is the key. After every layer, wait for it to dry completely before you apply the next layer.”
Adding some cyanine to the ink, she applied a layer onto the leaves.
Then, she reached out to a hair dryer that she had placed on a stool earlier.
As soon as she picked up the hair dryer, the channel became lively all over again.
[Hot dang! A Dyson hair dryer!]*
[The channel master must be a Second Generation Rich! @King of the Hill, are you there? Is your face hurting??!!]
[A 3,000 yuan hair dryer. Tsk tsk tsk…. Rich Channel Master, are you in need of any more friends?]
[Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself while you blow dry the painting, Channel Master?]
Gu Shishi was not entirely blowing dry her painting mindlessly. She was carefully planning on the colors to follow.
She talked slowly as she thought everything through.
“I am going to mix the cyanine with gamboge next for the second layer on the leaves. There must be color and lighting differences between the top and the bottom of the leaves. Adjust the ratio between cyanine and gamboge to make one side more green and the other more yellow.”
Everybody shrieked in the channel.
Many planes, snacks, and sunflower seeds dropped in the channel.
[Channel Master, I love your style of feigning to be lecturing about painting while you show off your wealth! I am so following you!]
[I suspect the channel master was showing off her wealth, but I can’t prove it!]
[I suspect even the fan mount that the channel master is using is high-end custom-made! Too bad I can’t tell the difference!]
[Oh, right. Are you selling the fan today? Or are you giving it away for free?]
The channel’s popularity was beginning to go up. Even though it was almost 11 o’clock, many night owls were still online.
It was bustling inside her channel, but Gu Shishi, submerged in her process of creating the fan mount, did not notice that at all.
When the ink was dried, she started with her second layer. She didn’t even notice that her cellphone was vibrating on the end table.
She finally let out a long breath after she had completed the refreshing, elegant, and lifelike “Dragonfly Dancing around the Lotuses” on the fan mount.
[Shoot! That little dragonfly looks so real!]
[Oh, boo, what are you talking about? Dragonflies are not cute at all in real life. But this one is so cute~]
[I could almost see the wings of the dragonfly vibrating as it tapped on the lotus leaves!]
[Everybody step aside, the guru is here! Channel Master is an expert among Second Generation Rich!]
[Yeah, never mind about anything else. Just these wings alone were worth 10/10!]
[Yeah, this color combination is so incredible… dark green, light green, plus a hint of yellow here and there along with the white lotus leaves… I think this looks much better than the pink and red flowers!]
[I thought it was hot today, but I feel much calmer now that I am looking at the channel master’s fan mount.]
Gu Shishi picked up her cellphone that has been streaming.
That’s when she saw a string of donations along with ‘666’ scrolling through her screen.
“And that’s all for today’s creation of the fan mount. I will add the inscription later on and the pictures will be posted on my ‘Ink Painting Guru’ friends’ circle. Do come and check out the detailed photos.”
Having said that, she ended the stream.
She wrote down “On the Love of Lotuses” on the backside of the mount and painted her stamp.
While she was waiting for it to dry, she placed her fan mount on the stand that she had ordered specifically as a set.
Picking up her old cellphone next to her, she was just about to take some pictures of the fan mount when she paused a little.
There were a few messages on WeChat.
[King of the Hill: I’ll buy it.]
[King of the Hill: Just name your price.]
[MeowMeow: This is the one for my grandmother, right?]
[MeowMeow: My grandmother was asking me about it. Please let me know. As for the price… just let me know.]
Gu Shishi chuckled.
She had, indeed, prepared that for Old Mrs. Chen. She figured she’d like it.
But, as they had never communicated about the drawing ahead of time, she wasn’t 100% sure of that.
It’d appear that Old Mrs. Chen was quite happy with it.
Gu Shishi regretfully replied King of the Hill’s message. [I apologize. A customer of mine placed the order before you and had already paid me the deposit. I have four more fan mounts to go, so it might be a while, but if that is alright with you then let me know.]
Old Mrs. Chen ordered five fans at one go. Four round ones and one folding one.
She had only finished one so far.
The King of the Hill had been saying that he wanted to buy a painting, but Old Mrs. Chen beat him to it.
She had already paid her 10,000 yuan deposit with alacrity after she had approved her friend’s request on Wechat the other day.
Observing the rule of first come first serve, Gu Shishi must prioritize Old Mrs. Chen first.