This is the 124th issue of [Zhu Xiaolu] oral story telling of real people: Little Bee Editor: Zhu Xiaolu & Xin Yue I am a post-90s generation in Hubei, and now I am a university art teacher. I have been painting since childhood and have excellent professional skills, so my work i

This is [Zhu Xiaolu]’s 124th issue of real-life stories

Oral narration: Little Bee

Editors: Zhu Xiaolu & Xinyue

I am born in the 1990s in Hubei and am now a university art teacher.

I have been drawing since childhood and have excellent professional skills, so my work is easy and free, and my work pressure is not high.

For those of us who study painting, employment can generally be divided into two paths. One is pure art and makes a living by selling paintings.

The second is to do art-related work, such as interior design.

It is very difficult to pursue the path of pure art. I am very lucky and aware that I am not suitable, so I finally chose to be a university teacher.

I am Little Bee, a post-80s generation from Hubei. As the name suggests, I am a diligent, down-to-earth and capable person.

htmlWhen I was 24, my mother sent me to learn simple drawing.

I guess my mother never thought at that time that I would be doing this for a living many years later. She just wanted me to develop my hobbies.

When children learn to draw, teachers rarely teach them many techniques. They just let us draw as we like.

I have to say that simple drawing is especially suitable for children to learn. Because

is simple, it does not require high learning materials. A pencil, a piece of waste paper, and a few strokes can outline a simple graphic.

Some children are very talented. They can draw pictures vividly without being taught.

However, most beginners cannot do this and can only doodle.

My parents saw that I was pretty good at drawing and they kept nurturing me.

(paintings I drew)

The brother of my mother’s colleague is a well-known calligrapher in Hubei. When I was 11 years old, I learned Chinese painting from this teacher.

In ancient times, there was no distinction between calligraphy and painting, and most of the handwriting written by everyone was beautiful.

People nowadays generally focus a little on calligraphy and painting.

However, the handwriting of famous painters is not bad. After all, the last painting needs an inscription. If the writing is not good, the price of a good painting will drop.

My teacher is better at calligraphy. Although he is not a famous painter, he is more than enough to teach me a child.

How to use the pen, how to distinguish and use the thick and light ink, and some basic skills of traditional Chinese painting were all learned from the teacher.

When I was in junior high school, I started to learn sketching and coloring, which were also required when we were admitted to the High School Affiliated to the Academy of Fine Arts.

The most basic things in any high-level art are relatively boring. When

was learning sketching, he held a drawing board one day and used a pencil to draw apples, spheres, plaster statues, bottles and other scenery. When

first learned, analyze the structure of objects, learn perspective, dark side, background, and light source.

Every small item requires a long time to ponder and practice.

Even talented masters cannot avoid practicing basic skills.

The famous painter Leonardo da VinciWhen he was learning painting from Verrocchio at the age of 14, the instructor asked him to paint eggs every day, and he kept painting from morning to night.

A few days later, Leonardo da Vinci felt very boring and asked his instructor what was the point of painting eggs all the time?

Tutor said that every egg is different.

Even if it is the same egg, if it is placed in different positions and the projected light is different, the drawn eggs will also be different.

Painting eggs is to train his observation and painting abilities.

(The painting I drew)

Later, Leonardo da Vinci painted eggs for three years.

It is precisely because of his solid basic skills that he painted famous paintings such as "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper".

Of course, for many people who study painting, although they are not comparable to great people, they are somewhat similar. The longer you train each basic skill, the more solid your skills will be, and the better the final product will be.

When I used to practice painting bottles, I would paint them for two months.

The layout of the bottle, how to distribute the ratio between the bottleneck and the bottle belly, what the arc is at the turning point, and how much area is suitable for the shadow part, all need to be carefully considered.

When drawing a sphere, lines are very important, and I have put a lot of effort into this aspect.

At the beginning, the lines I drew were messy, fragmented, and couldn't be straightened. The dark side of the object couldn't be pressed down, and the proportions of the bottle were wrong. The finished product of

looks like a bottle that fell to pieces and was glued together. It looks awkward no matter how you look at it.

However, after half a year, the sketches I drew were very good, the lines were arranged neatly, and the finished product was pleasing to the eye.

After attending the High School Affiliated to the Academy of Fine Arts, our school focused more on still life painting.

Set up a background board indoors and put various bottles, jars, utensils, plates or plaster statues on it. We put out the brackets and started practicing.

Whenever I am not good at drawing, I feel that talent is too important.

It would be great if I could have some talent in every aspect of painting.

But the reality is that I am just more sensitive to lines, and I have a general grasp of other factors that affect painting, such as image, proportion, color, and lighting.

As for those who do not have good academic performance and want to take the art exam, some are just novices and only started painting in the second year of high school.

Anyone who can get into a key art school, or even the Central Academy of Fine Arts, has good talent.

But it doesn’t matter. Diligence can make up for weakness. Most people who take this path have certain talents and must also love it.

No matter how good your talent is, if you don’t love it and persist, you won’t get far.

I am very lucky. Although I don’t say how talented I am, painting is something I am good at and I have always persisted.

When I was in college, I studied environment and art design, which was in the commercial direction.

(my work)

When I was a freshman, I have been taking basic courses.

carries the drawing board and travels around the campus with tools every day. He chooses a secluded place and starts drawing the floor plan.

When I was in my second and third year of college, I started to use software for design, such as interior decoration, landscape design and hotel decoration. I would use CAD and other design software.

In fact, when we were studying, the curriculum system was not very complete, and the things we learned were relatively complicated, and there were no strong subdivisions.

However, the school will provide some pure art elective courses and will also show us various classic design cases.

For example, some masterpieces of the German Expressionism faction. The famous painter Van Gogh is a representative of this faction.

Famous designs in the world, whether they are architecture, clothing, landscape or decoration, and successful commercial works, are inseparable from pure art.

Frank designed Fallingwater , Ian Lai designed the Wenze City Government Hall in the UK, I.M. Pei designed Suzhou Museum , and the Orange Courtyard in Spain, these are all beautiful, practical and valuable. top design.

But a realistic and cruel problem is that if you take the path of pure art, most people will not be able to support themselves;

If you take the commercial path, you may slowly lose your original intention and no longer have the passion for creation.

There are very few people who study painting who are truly pure artists and make a living by selling paintings.

For successful painters, galleries buy their paintings, and there are also collectors who are willing to buy them.

But there are too few people who can do this.

They may also be on the street, setting up an easel and painting portraits of passers-by for tens of dollars a picture, making a living.

In addition, learning to paint is also a very large investment. Before you can support yourself through painting, you usually have to invest hundreds of thousands.

This is just like the entertainment industry. Being in the entertainment industry is a business where you keep throwing money at it, but you won’t see any benefits in the short term, and you don’t know what the future will hold.

belongs to the grassroots, and few people become first-line stars through their own efforts.

The same goes for Huahua. There are very few people who have nothing and can carve out their own way without family support.

If you don’t have enough talent or love enough, you can treat painting as a hobby. If you want to make a living from it, you have to consider it carefully.

(my work)

No matter how beautiful the art is, it will not be able to exchange for the few taels of money that can make a living for a while. Under the heavy pressure, it is difficult to create with peace of mind.

This is why many parents are unwilling to let their children take the path of art.

I have a relative who comes from a peasant family. His son wants to learn painting, but the relatives are very opposed to it.

He tried to dissuade her in every possible way, but his son didn't listen.

The relative had no choice but to compromise, but said to his son:

"I am now selling iron for you to learn to paint, but if you can't find a job in the future, the whole family will eat and sleep with you. You can set up a table on the roadside and put a bowl next to it. Let’s make a living selling paintings.”

Later, my relatives’ house was demolished, and their lives were okay.

Although his son studied painting, he stopped painting in the end. Like most people, he passed the exam and worked in a job that guaranteed income during droughts and floods.

Although the reality is cruel, don't worry too much. Love can last for a long time, and hard work will eventually usher in the dawn.

Every industry has grassroots figures like Wang Baoqiang and Zhao Liying . They continue to work hard on the road of their choice. Even if they cannot become famous, they can at least have enough to eat.

As we live, money is very important, and mood is also very important. Only by knowing the balance and trade-offs can we live a good life.

In the eyes of the public, many people who work in the arts are more independent and like to live in isolation and do not want to join the crowd.

I have seen some colleagues who paint Chinese paintings. They look very fairy-like, but have a cold temperament. At a glance, it seems that "Do Not Disturb" is written all over their faces.

This is normal. Art creation requires keen perception and continuous creativity. Everyone has a way to protect their inspiration.

is like an actor. In order to create a better character, when sinking into the role, the whole person and environment are stripped away.

I’m okay. As an artist, I am very smoky and down-to-earth.

When I have inspiration or am in a good mood, I can paint for two or three hours at home alone.

Looking at the works he has drawn bit by bit, there may be imperfections, but it still feels very fulfilling.

In fact, although I was not a solitary person in the past, I was also very aloof. I felt that anything I didn’t like was vulgar and I couldn’t understand other people’s aesthetics.

(my work)

There is a way, and its existence is reasonable.

Later, I slowly let go of my prejudices and appreciated different beauties with an open and tolerant mind.

Really good things are appreciated by both refined and popular people.

A truly powerful person can easily control the elegance of the Yangchun Baixue and the vulgarity of the lower-class people, and there is no contradiction.

A top artist like Lao Mouzi is worthy of being a national teacher.

can guide elegant and cultural large-scale events such as the Olympic Games, and can also produce successful commercial blockbusters such as "Heroes".

As far as the art field is concerned, masters Qi Baishi are also people like Zhang Yimou .

The fish and shrimps he painted look very ordinary, but whether an expert or a layman, you can tell at a glance that they are indeed the work of a master, and the details are really evident.

This is [Zhu Xiaolu]’s 124th issue of real-life stories

Oral narration: Little Bee

Editors: Zhu Xiaolu & Xinyue

I am born in the 1990s in Hubei and am now a university art teacher.

I have been drawing since childhood and have excellent professional skills, so my work is easy and free, and my work pressure is not high.

For those of us who study painting, employment can generally be divided into two paths. One is pure art and makes a living by selling paintings.

The second is to do art-related work, such as interior design.

It is very difficult to pursue the path of pure art. I am very lucky and aware that I am not suitable, so I finally chose to be a university teacher.

I am Little Bee, a post-80s generation from Hubei. As the name suggests, I am a diligent, down-to-earth and capable person.

htmlWhen I was 24, my mother sent me to learn simple drawing.

I guess my mother never thought at that time that I would be doing this for a living many years later. She just wanted me to develop my hobbies.

When children learn to draw, teachers rarely teach them many techniques. They just let us draw as we like.

I have to say that simple drawing is especially suitable for children to learn. Because

is simple, it does not require high learning materials. A pencil, a piece of waste paper, and a few strokes can outline a simple graphic.

Some children are very talented. They can draw pictures vividly without being taught.

However, most beginners cannot do this and can only doodle.

My parents saw that I was pretty good at drawing and they kept nurturing me.

(paintings I drew)

The brother of my mother’s colleague is a well-known calligrapher in Hubei. When I was 11 years old, I learned Chinese painting from this teacher.

In ancient times, there was no distinction between calligraphy and painting, and most of the handwriting written by everyone was beautiful.

People nowadays generally focus a little on calligraphy and painting.

However, the handwriting of famous painters is not bad. After all, the last painting needs an inscription. If the writing is not good, the price of a good painting will drop.

My teacher is better at calligraphy. Although he is not a famous painter, he is more than enough to teach me a child.

How to use the pen, how to distinguish and use the thick and light ink, and some basic skills of traditional Chinese painting were all learned from the teacher.

When I was in junior high school, I started to learn sketching and coloring, which were also required when we were admitted to the High School Affiliated to the Academy of Fine Arts.

The most basic things in any high-level art are relatively boring. When

was learning sketching, he held a drawing board one day and used a pencil to draw apples, spheres, plaster statues, bottles and other scenery. When

first learned, analyze the structure of objects, learn perspective, dark side, background, and light source.

Every small item requires a long time to ponder and practice.

Even talented masters cannot avoid practicing basic skills.

The famous painter Leonardo da VinciWhen he was learning painting from Verrocchio at the age of 14, the instructor asked him to paint eggs every day, and he kept painting from morning to night.

A few days later, Leonardo da Vinci felt very boring and asked his instructor what was the point of painting eggs all the time?

Tutor said that every egg is different.

Even if it is the same egg, if it is placed in different positions and the projected light is different, the drawn eggs will also be different.

Painting eggs is to train his observation and painting abilities.

(The painting I drew)

Later, Leonardo da Vinci painted eggs for three years.

It is precisely because of his solid basic skills that he painted famous paintings such as "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper".

Of course, for many people who study painting, although they are not comparable to great people, they are somewhat similar. The longer you train each basic skill, the more solid your skills will be, and the better the final product will be.

When I used to practice painting bottles, I would paint them for two months.

The layout of the bottle, how to distribute the ratio between the bottleneck and the bottle belly, what the arc is at the turning point, and how much area is suitable for the shadow part, all need to be carefully considered.

When drawing a sphere, lines are very important, and I have put a lot of effort into this aspect.

At the beginning, the lines I drew were messy, fragmented, and couldn't be straightened. The dark side of the object couldn't be pressed down, and the proportions of the bottle were wrong. The finished product of

looks like a bottle that fell to pieces and was glued together. It looks awkward no matter how you look at it.

However, after half a year, the sketches I drew were very good, the lines were arranged neatly, and the finished product was pleasing to the eye.

After attending the High School Affiliated to the Academy of Fine Arts, our school focused more on still life painting.

Set up a background board indoors and put various bottles, jars, utensils, plates or plaster statues on it. We put out the brackets and started practicing.

Whenever I am not good at drawing, I feel that talent is too important.

It would be great if I could have some talent in every aspect of painting.

But the reality is that I am just more sensitive to lines, and I have a general grasp of other factors that affect painting, such as image, proportion, color, and lighting.

As for those who do not have good academic performance and want to take the art exam, some are just novices and only started painting in the second year of high school.

Anyone who can get into a key art school, or even the Central Academy of Fine Arts, has good talent.

But it doesn’t matter. Diligence can make up for weakness. Most people who take this path have certain talents and must also love it.

No matter how good your talent is, if you don’t love it and persist, you won’t get far.

I am very lucky. Although I don’t say how talented I am, painting is something I am good at and I have always persisted.

When I was in college, I studied environment and art design, which was in the commercial direction.

(my work)

When I was a freshman, I have been taking basic courses.

carries the drawing board and travels around the campus with tools every day. He chooses a secluded place and starts drawing the floor plan.

When I was in my second and third year of college, I started to use software for design, such as interior decoration, landscape design and hotel decoration. I would use CAD and other design software.

In fact, when we were studying, the curriculum system was not very complete, and the things we learned were relatively complicated, and there were no strong subdivisions.

However, the school will provide some pure art elective courses and will also show us various classic design cases.

For example, some masterpieces of the German Expressionism faction. The famous painter Van Gogh is a representative of this faction.

Famous designs in the world, whether they are architecture, clothing, landscape or decoration, and successful commercial works, are inseparable from pure art.

Frank designed Fallingwater , Ian Lai designed the Wenze City Government Hall in the UK, I.M. Pei designed Suzhou Museum , and the Orange Courtyard in Spain, these are all beautiful, practical and valuable. top design.

But a realistic and cruel problem is that if you take the path of pure art, most people will not be able to support themselves;

If you take the commercial path, you may slowly lose your original intention and no longer have the passion for creation.

There are very few people who study painting who are truly pure artists and make a living by selling paintings.

For successful painters, galleries buy their paintings, and there are also collectors who are willing to buy them.

But there are too few people who can do this.

They may also be on the street, setting up an easel and painting portraits of passers-by for tens of dollars a picture, making a living.

In addition, learning to paint is also a very large investment. Before you can support yourself through painting, you usually have to invest hundreds of thousands.

This is just like the entertainment industry. Being in the entertainment industry is a business where you keep throwing money at it, but you won’t see any benefits in the short term, and you don’t know what the future will hold.

belongs to the grassroots, and few people become first-line stars through their own efforts.

The same goes for Huahua. There are very few people who have nothing and can carve out their own way without family support.

If you don’t have enough talent or love enough, you can treat painting as a hobby. If you want to make a living from it, you have to consider it carefully.

(my work)

No matter how beautiful the art is, it will not be able to exchange for the few taels of money that can make a living for a while. Under the heavy pressure, it is difficult to create with peace of mind.

This is why many parents are unwilling to let their children take the path of art.

I have a relative who comes from a peasant family. His son wants to learn painting, but the relatives are very opposed to it.

He tried to dissuade her in every possible way, but his son didn't listen.

The relative had no choice but to compromise, but said to his son:

"I am now selling iron for you to learn to paint, but if you can't find a job in the future, the whole family will eat and sleep with you. You can set up a table on the roadside and put a bowl next to it. Let’s make a living selling paintings.”

Later, my relatives’ house was demolished, and their lives were okay.

Although his son studied painting, he stopped painting in the end. Like most people, he passed the exam and worked in a job that guaranteed income during droughts and floods.

Although the reality is cruel, don't worry too much. Love can last for a long time, and hard work will eventually usher in the dawn.

Every industry has grassroots figures like Wang Baoqiang and Zhao Liying . They continue to work hard on the road of their choice. Even if they cannot become famous, they can at least have enough to eat.

As we live, money is very important, and mood is also very important. Only by knowing the balance and trade-offs can we live a good life.

In the eyes of the public, many people who work in the arts are more independent and like to live in isolation and do not want to join the crowd.

I have seen some colleagues who paint Chinese paintings. They look very fairy-like, but have a cold temperament. At a glance, it seems that "Do Not Disturb" is written all over their faces.

This is normal. Art creation requires keen perception and continuous creativity. Everyone has a way to protect their inspiration.

is like an actor. In order to create a better character, when sinking into the role, the whole person and environment are stripped away.

I’m okay. As an artist, I am very smoky and down-to-earth.

When I have inspiration or am in a good mood, I can paint for two or three hours at home alone.

Looking at the works he has drawn bit by bit, there may be imperfections, but it still feels very fulfilling.

In fact, although I was not a solitary person in the past, I was also very aloof. I felt that anything I didn’t like was vulgar and I couldn’t understand other people’s aesthetics.

(my work)

There is a way, and its existence is reasonable.

Later, I slowly let go of my prejudices and appreciated different beauties with an open and tolerant mind.

Really good things are appreciated by both refined and popular people.

A truly powerful person can easily control the elegance of the Yangchun Baixue and the vulgarity of the lower-class people, and there is no contradiction.

A top artist like Lao Mouzi is worthy of being a national teacher.

can guide elegant and cultural large-scale events such as the Olympic Games, and can also produce successful commercial blockbusters such as "Heroes".

As far as the art field is concerned, masters Qi Baishi are also people like Zhang Yimou .

The fish and shrimps he painted look very ordinary, but whether an expert or a layman, you can tell at a glance that they are indeed the work of a master, and the details are really evident.

Although I can't draw the master's works, I can learn from the master's mentality and treat painting as life, not as a superior art.

When I feel depressed, I will choose to draw and vent my worries through the brush in my hand.

If I am in a bad state, I can read my tangled and complicated emotions from the paintings.

My Chinese medicine teacher is even better. He can see from a person's paintings where the artist is feeling uncomfortable.

For example, someone has a heart or liver problem.

(My work)

My naked eyes are not as clear as the teacher’s.

But from my professional point of view, I can also analyze the parts where the teacher points out problems in the work, and that part is not well drawn.

In addition to painting, I learned zhanzhuang from my teacher and practiced the exercises to make my body more transparent, my mind clearer, and my eyes clearer.

Only when you have a good body will you be relaxed and inspired when working and creating.

This is applicable to anyone in any industry.

I really envy the college students who are studying painting now. They are energetic, smart and hardworking.

Some students majoring in illustration or animation at the Central Academy of Fine Arts can make a living from their majors around their sophomore year.

With a tablet a day, he can draw anywhere. If he is good at it, he can sell his works at high prices.

It is said that one design of celebrity Xiao Zhan sophomore can sell for 200,000 yuan. If this is true, it is indeed very high, and he is considered a very capable person.

For more people, they may not be so lucky.

Even if you take the business path, the money you earn at the beginning will not be much left after excluding the cost of living.

Dreams and bread are both important.

Without dreams, bread tastes like nothing; without bread, dreams cannot reflect reality and can only be buried in the heart.

Now, my child is 5 years old. Although my wife and I both learned to draw, we did not deliberately train him in this direction.

He is not that passionate about painting, and we don’t want to force him.

Interest is the best teacher. Parents do not need to worry about how to educate their children. They only need to observe their usual hobbies and follow the path chosen by their children.

As long as a person has three correct views, he will go well in the end.

On the contrary, if you cannot abide by the bottom line, even if you entertain guests in a high-rise building, it will only be a temporary success and will not go far.

There are people in every industry who rely on opportunism to gain fame and fortune, and the same is true in our industry.

When someone creates a work, he always "borrows" from foreign works and accumulates fame in the circle. Before being exposed, he is indeed living a prosperous life.

But the wind will leave traces. If you do shameful things secretly, how can you stay safe for the rest of your life?

These colleagues of mine who like to use their brains will end up similar to Guo Jingming and Yu Zheng .

Fame and fortune are naturally tempting, but you also have to think about it, when the truth is revealed, will you still have a chance to stand up?

(my work)

Whenever we are tempted by a certain incident, we have to use our brains to think about whether we can afford the consequences.

Just like now, as a university teacher, I have to write a paper to evaluate my professional title, and I have to go to , the core journal of Nanjing University .

Affected by the Zhai Tianlin thesis fraud incident, the school is now very strict in reviewing and checking for plagiarism.

What I am not good at is scratching my head when it comes time to write a paper.

However, no matter how difficult it is to write a paper, I don’t think about finding a popular one. After all, I can’t afford the consequences.

When I draw, even if I am impressed by other people's works, I am just learning other people's creative methods, not copying other people's creativity.

I have repeatedly stressed to my students that even if you are never famous for your paintings, you should not plagiarize other people's works. That will make your path narrower and narrower, or even lead you to a dead end from which you will never get out.

Life is like running a marathon. You are not afraid of losing at the starting line, or running slowly, but you are afraid of being kicked off the track.

If you make a mistake, you will be regretted forever, and if you look back, you will be regretted for a hundred years.

This is the 124th real-life story recorded by [Zhu Xiaolu].

I feel that truth is extremely powerful and has the power to move and warm people's hearts.

Tell your pain, and you will lose one pain;

Share your happiness, and you will get two happiness.

If you also want to tell your story so that more people can see it, please send me a private message

I have repeatedly stressed to my students that even if you are never famous for your paintings, you should not plagiarize other people's works. That will make your path narrower and narrower, or even lead you to a dead end from which you will never get out.

Life is like running a marathon. You are not afraid of losing at the starting line, or running slowly, but you are afraid of being kicked off the track.

If you make a mistake, you will be regretted forever, and if you look back, you will be regretted for a hundred years.

This is the 124th real-life story recorded by [Zhu Xiaolu].

I feel that truth is extremely powerful and has the power to move and warm people's hearts.

Tell your pain, and you will lose one pain;

Share your happiness, and you will get two happiness.

If you also want to tell your story so that more people can see it, please send me a private message