BELLRAM V01 - Ambivalence of Light and Shadow I

BP001-P38 - Red Wine 5

At the young woman's question, the artist put his glass down on the floor, although there were tables nearby.

"Give it to me then. I'll have a look at it."

The young woman handed him the painting with both hands and he accepted it with both hands.

For a moment he looked at it in silence, then held it up by the outstretched arm beside him so that everyone in the group could see it.

In order to be able to see something herself, Meia changed her position with steps to the side closer to the young woman.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a blonde woman in a two-piece swim suit lying in the sand. Her head was closest to the viewer. Her legs were going away to the back. It was as if you were standing behind her and looking down at her. Her arms were outstretched towards the viewer, as if she wanted to hug you. The picture was a real painting with oil colours. It had a strong texture. This was especially noticeable in the hair. Such paintings were always the most beautiful.

Secretly listening, Meia chewed her bread.

"I'm afraid that's exactly what I was talking about."

Slightly shocked, the young woman took a half step forward. "What do you mean, Master?" she asked with panic in her voice.

"See those lanterns there." With his free hand, the artist briefly pointed to one of the lanterns from the strings. "That's art. Sure, you might think it's just a cheap lantern with no great value, but someone handcrafted it as best he could until it was finished. Art is not about value, quality, skill or recognition. It is only about creating something. This lantern is art. This, on the other hand, is not. This is not what you wanted to paint. Why did you paint it?" he asked sternly.

"But this is exactly what I wanted to paint..."

"You may have set out to paint this, but it is still not what you wanted to paint. When I look at your painting, I do not feel anything, because I realise it is just a painting. The world you want to show me is not real. It does not exist. It did not exist. It never will be. I do not need to care about it. Do not get me wrong, you painted a beautiful woman and you painted a beautiful beach, but what you should have painted is a woman lying on a beach. Your woman is lying on a background. Think about how she affects this world and how she is affected by this world. It is good how the fingers dig into the sand and the marks by the feet, but that is not enough. Your woman is supposed to be lying in the sand. How did she get there? Did she make any other movements before that which might have left traces? She could have been lying on her stomach before. She could have been in the water before. Your woman has not done anything in her life yet. She has only existed for a moment. Why does she not sink into the sand? Has she no weight? Why do the shadows fall almost evenly from her body on the uneven ground? Why are there no grains of sand in her hair? It could be a glint in the sunlight. All her strands lie on the sand. Not a single one is buried. Your woman exists on a world and not in it. If you want to be my disciple, you should consider such things. When you look at a work, you may see its beauty, but when you look at art, you feel it. In your painting there is a qualitative discrepancy because after the woman you did not feel like painting anymore. If you do not want to paint a background, then do not."

In the course of his judgement, the artist pointed from time to time at various spots in the picture, but never touched it. His finger always lingered just above the paint. The young woman nodded after each of his points and listened attentively, as if absorbing his every word. In the meantime, Meia had turned all the way to the group so she could see better.

"As for the woman herself, it really turned out very well. The best I have seen from you so far. The practice has paid off. But I have some advice for you here too. There is something that even art teachers often do not get right because they do not ask themselves what their picture would look like from a different angle. You often see long clothing that has to exist in a parallel universe because the space is double-occupied. You should pay more attention to that. This strand of hair here, for example, can not be here. Her breast is already in this space. If it was lying on it, it would slip away. It did not. So it flys. Earlier you said that your painting would be classified as realism. But you failed at that too. It is obvious that you had no real model, because this woman would not exist. Symmetry looks beautiful, but perfect symmetry does not. You should change her face. You wanted her to look erotic?" Slowly the artist slid his fingers over her lips. "If you put another line of black between her lips, it looks as if she is about to say something. Implications are the wings of the imagination. They make a work more interesting. Art is not a moment. Art is a testimony of time. Do not show a moment, but make it the result of a past and imply a future."