Episode 74: Meticulously
A chilling wind blows through the dense bamboo forest.
Raindrops form at the tips of the leaves, causing them to bend slightly.
Swoosh—
As the sound of rain begins to be heard,
The thin branches start to tremble.
The bamboo grove, stretching vigorously, resembles a torrential downpour.
“……”
Ryu Miyeon felt as if she was actually in the middle of the forest.
The vigorous brushstrokes stretching out.
The vividness capturing the ecosystem of nature as it is.
A novel composition never seen before.
It was a masterpiece that lacked nothing.
Had she ever seen such a unique literati painting?
“You said he drew this yesterday, right? You saw it…”
At Ryu Miyeon’s question, Ryu Junhee frowned.
“Agh! Noona, how many times are you going to ask… I told you not to talk about it!”
“……”
“He draws like a madman, it gave me goosebumps… My only regret is that I couldn’t capture it.”
Ryu Miyeon was curious as she looked at Kang Lim’s painting.
Surely, if he lived in a small house, he wouldn’t have had much experience with large-scale work…
It was strange how he handled such a large canvas without any trouble.
It seemed like a grand painting created by a master used to large-scale work.
‘Is this possible in just a day?’
Even meticulously revising sketches would be difficult… but he drew it in one go.
Where did the skill to handle such a large brush with ease come from?
‘Moreover… No matter how young Junhee is, his position in the art world is quite significant. He would be a senior difficult for any first-year to approach… but Kang Lim ignores him and draws in front of him.’
How focused must he be?
There were so many unbelievable things.
It was hard to grasp the extent of Kang Lim’s potential.
She knew he was bold, but seeing his lively ink wash made it even more evident.
Ha Baekyeon’s words were true.
The statement that Kang Lim was a limitless gray human…
The number of works he currently had was not all there was to him.
Kang Lim held infinite possibilities.
“Noona, have you ever seen a literati painting with no empty space?”
“No, this kind of composition is new to me too. Why did he draw it this way?”
“Kang Lim said that the empty space originally was a space filled with water, mist, or clouds. After realizing that the empty world was actually full, he started to fill the canvas. He said that if he filled it completely, it would eventually become an empty space…”
Ryu Junhee found Kang Lim’s words difficult.
Just hearing it, he couldn’t understand what it meant.
But…
Looking at the painting, he understood it in an instant.
Although the canvas was full, an inexplicable silence flowed.
“The wet bamboo grove fills the canvas densely, but the heart feels empty. It truly feels void… Doesn’t it feel that way to you too, Noona?”
“…He revealed the emptiness through filling.”
Ryu Miyeon nodded.
The paradoxical signature of Kang Lim was evident even in his Oriental paintings.
This was typical of great masters.
No matter what genre they handled, their unique feel would come through.
“But there’s something even funnier.”
“What is it?”
“He said this isn’t his best. I found it absurd.”
“Haha, that’s so like Kang Lim.”
“Saying it’s just decent… It was a bit annoying.”
“Hmm…”
With tightly closed lips and a serious expression,
Ryu Miyeon meticulously examined Kang Lim’s painting.
It seemed this would be a good starting point.
After some thought, Ryu Miyeon spoke.
“How about putting this work up for auction at K Auction? It seems perfect as the first painting to sell. Kang Lim’s representative works are too precious to auction off yet.”
“Why K Auction of all places? There are many overseas auctions.”
“Because all the passionate Korean painting collectors gather at K Auction.”
“Oh, I see…”
“You know, Korean painting still doesn’t have a well-established concept.”
“That’s true.”
“Interesting contemporary Korean paintings keep coming out. Most of them depict modern people using old materials.”
“Yeah. There are paintings of women eating black bean noodles on rice paper, Batman paintings, all sorts of things. Some artists parody Gyeomjae Jeong Seon’s paintings in oil paintings…”
Ryu Miyeon raised one corner of her mouth and said,
“That’s exactly it. Because of that, the value of Kang Lim’s paintings will skyrocket.”
“Why?”
“Maniacal Korean painting collectors are thirsty. There’s no artist who precisely inherits tradition.”
“Hmm?”
“Kang Lim’s paintings are continuing the interrupted lineage of literati paintings. Collectors would go crazy, the competition would be fierce.”
“Oh! Now that I think about it, there are no artists showing calligraphy-based ink painting.”
“Even if there are, most of them just follow Joseon-era painters. They aren’t this modern. Plus, it would be even more of an issue since someone who didn’t major in Oriental painting drew this.”
Ryu Junhee squinted his eyes and said,
“Anyway, you sure know how to use your brain.”
“It’s my job, isn’t it?”
“It would be a real uproar if it becomes known that Kang Lim is good at Oriental painting too.”
“Yes, when Kang Lim’s solo exhibition at Heyoum is announced and the spotlight is on him. That’s when we should put it up.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll do well. Talk to Kang Lim about it.”
“Kang Lim is busy, so later.”
“My goodness, you’re so devoted.”
“But, why did you hang this painting in your room?”
Ryu Junhee turned his head, seemingly flustered by the unexpected question.
His neck and shoulders were tense.
“How should I know, just mind your own business.”
Ryu Junhee opened the easel that was in the residency and said,
“If you’re done looking at the painting, get out! You’re disturbing me.”
“Alright, work hard.”
Ryu Miyeon chuckled as she saw Ryu Junhee pouting.
‘Junhee used to think that the meaning in a painting was unimportant… He thought it was nonsense attached by those with no sense of form…’
There were many artists who talked grandly but whose work wasn’t good.
So Ryu Junhee’s thoughts had some validity.
But Kang Lim’s paintings were different.
Because his deep thoughts were directly reflected in his paintings.
‘Can Junhee also carry such weight in his work?’
Maybe he’ll mature now. What will his next painting be like after maturing…
Ryu Miyeon closed the door slowly so as not to disturb him, looking forward to what was to come.
Artists grow by influencing each other.
As usual, Song Gijeong opened his shop late in the morning.
There were no customers anyway… It’s just tiring to get up early.
He made money because artists he already knew entrusted him with framing their works.
Selling materials was only possible around March when new freshmen from the Oriental Painting Department entered.
“Grandpa!”
But today seemed different.
The busy season came again in the morning.
“What is it? Why are you here again! Did you already use up all 100 sheets?”
Song Gijeong’s white eyebrows twitched.
Although he glared fiercely at Kang Lim, he thought highly of him inside.
Kang Lim, panting, said,
“Huff, no. This time, I’m here to buy materials for color painting.”
“For color painting? It takes a long time to do it as a hobby.”
“It’s not a hobby. I’m submitting it for a competition. And I’m going to use color painting materials for ink painting. It won’t take long.”
“What nonsense is that? You might as well say you’re mixing water and oil!”
“Oh, just open the door quickly. How are you going to do business like this?”
“Shut up, you brat!”
Song Gijeong hit Kang Lim with the keys he was holding and opened the door.
As the door slid open, Kang Lim quickly went inside.
He didn’t seem to care about being hit. He must be in a hurry.
“Grandpa, where’s the glue!”
“I put it under the inkstone!”
“Oh, okay.”
Kang Lim passed by the brushes hanging in clusters and went to the inkstone corner.
Under the black inkstones, there were piles of glue.
‘I should use the one with the strongest adhesive power. I’m going to apply the paint thickly.’
When squeezing watercolor paint, sometimes a yellow liquid comes out before the paint.
This is gum arabic solution, used to adhere watercolor paint to paper.
Similarly, glue is used to attach Oriental painting pigments to hanji (Korean paper).
It’s the adhesive for traditional pigments.
Glue is collagen extracted from the skins and bones of animals.
It’s usually extracted from the inner skin of rabbits, deer, or cows.
It comes in various types depending on the refining process.
‘It seems like fish glue would be best… It dissolves quickly without soaking it in water a day before, so I can use it immediately and it has strong adhesive power.’
Kang Lim moved aside the square sheet glue and long stick glue, and took out a bag of fish glue.
It was purer and more transparent than other glues.
Although a bit expensive, its quality was the best.
‘Oh, the white powder is right next to it.’
On the shelf above the inkstone, there were boxes of white powder stacked.
White powder is a white pigment made from ground shells.
It is categorized into top-grade, high-grade, and medium-grade based on the size of its particles.
‘But since I have to grind it in a bowl anyway, the grade doesn’t make much difference…’
A beginner might have hesitated, but seasoned Kang Lim immediately chose the medium grade.
He also picked up a few short, chubby coloring brushes.
Kang Lim placed the materials on the counter and said,
“Grandpa! Please roll up two 120-size sheets of jangji as well.”
Just as you can’t apply oil paint on tissue paper, you can’t apply color pigments on paper meant for ink painting.
That’s why there’s separate paper for coloring.
Jangji is a sturdy paper made by layering several sheets of hanji.
It’s very tough and thick.
“You’re seriously going to buy these to do ink painting?”
Song Gijeong tilted his head.
Clearly, white powder and jangji were materials for color painting…
This guy was definitely trying something strange.
“Whatever you’re trying to do, make sure to help Korean painting be loved!”
“Huh… I hope so.”
Song Gijeong clicked his tongue as he rolled up the paper.
“Tsk tsk, the Chinese deliberately avoid oil paintings because they think Westerners’ paintings are inferior, and only buy traditional Chinese paintings. But we have nothing like that! This is Korea, why is Western painting the center of the art world here?”
“China thinks they are the center of the world, so their national pride is quite strong.”
“Why don’t we have that!”
“We need to do something unique. Something modern and cool that can instill national pride. I’ll keep researching…”
Kang Lim had no dream of continuing tradition or becoming a cultural property restorer.
But he did wish Korean painting would do well.
After all, it was Kang Lim who had made a preemptive report fearing that Namdaemun might burn down.
‘If the police hadn’t come then, I would have succeeded in breaking in, and by now I’d be restoring the burnt structure…’
The Dancheong (traditional Korean decorative coloring) of Namdaemun started peeling off just five months after restoration.
There was a rumor that it was because Japanese pigments were used, but Kang Lim knew the truth.
Having properly learned material science in this life, he could see things he didn’t know before.
‘Japan is the only country that properly makes pigments. Korea doesn’t invest in pigment development…’
Oriental painting professors also learn material science at Tokyo University of the Arts.
Japan’s pigment-making technology is very sophisticated.
Therefore, the reason for the peeling of Dancheong was not the materials.
The reason was simple.
Either the glue was not managed properly and they used rotten glue, or they didn’t adjust the ratio correctly.
Since glue is protein, it emits an unbearable stench when it decays.
Therefore, the former is less likely, and the latter, where they couldn’t adjust the glue ratio, is more probable.
‘Whatever the reason, it’s embarrassing as a professional… How can they not even match the ratio of adhesive and pigment concentration?’
The problem is the impatience to handle everything quickly and move on.
Like people who build buildings carelessly.
Kang Lim organized the new materials and brought out a large plastic box.
It was a box containing paintings from 13 years ago, with repeated experiments.
The box was covered with the words [Do Not Throw Away. These Are Paintings].
‘I kept these separately because people might think they are trash and throw them away…’
He opened the box and took out a small wooden panel.
The small panel had jangji attached to it, and white powder was applied on top.
He took out the paintings one by one and checked the condition of the pigments.
Only a few had cracks, and most were broken.
‘Wow, only one succeeded.’
No, it might not have succeeded yet.
There was still something left to check.
Taking a deep breath, Kang Lim picked up the last painting with trembling hands.
‘If it fails, there’s no helping it.’
He flipped the panel over, hit it hard with his fist, and shook it vigorously.
When he flipped it back over…
Fortunately, it was intact.
‘Hah. It really succeeded. It didn’t fall off!’
Only then did the tension dissolve, and he felt relieved.
‘The painting marked with a blue pen…’
There were blue letters on the side.
[Adhesive ratio: 180cc of water to 55g of glue.
Ratio for half-sized adhesive: 960cc of water to 20g of glue, 7g of alum]
‘This is how you can stack the white powder very thickly without it breaking…’
Since it was a painting that lasted 13 years, it was certain.
White powder cracks if the glue concentration is too thick, and it falls off if it’s too thin.
It’s a very sensitive pigment that even specialists find hard to handle.
‘This is a recipe only I know.’
Kang Lim had gained another secret.
This painting would become more intriguing as time passed.
Many would ask how the pigments didn’t fall off, and ask for the mixing ratio.
‘Now I just need to paint. This will be a painting like no one has seen before. It contains my long knowledge and research on materials.’
There’s a saying that hanji lasts a thousand years.
Would a painting on hanji also last that long?
Kang Lim was certain.
Though it might not be a thousand years, if the pigments were used properly, it would have much better preservation than Western paintings.
Knock knock knock.
At that moment, there was a sound from the residency door.
Looking up, he saw two people through the slightly open door.
They were people he had never seen before.
