There are many venomous snakes and beasts in Shimen Mountain, and even ordinary hunters and woodcutters often avoid it.
Jiang Yan was enlightened very early and had an adventure in the Pan Valley. Now he has reached the realm of spiritual enlightenment. Looking at the entire younger generation of Lin'an City, there are really few people who have entered the realm faster than him.
With his cultivation and painting skills, Jiang Yan was confident that he could break into Shimen Mountain, especially after he easily captured four big men yesterday, he was even more confident.
Jiang Yan packed a package and brought some food, and set out on the road to Shimen Mountain early the next morning.
After walking for an hour, Jiang Yan also discovered some problems, that is, there were too many mountains near Lin'an City, and he didn't even know which one was Shimen Mountain.
With no choice, Jiang Yan could only wait by the roadside to find someone who knew the way. It didn't take long before a man wearing a bamboo hat and linen clothes drove a carriage. Jiang Chan hurriedly waved his hand and stopped the carriage.
"Brother, I'm planning to go to Shimen Mountain, but the mountains here are so difficult to distinguish. Could you please give me some directions?" Jiang Yan asked very politely.
This man lifted his bamboo hat, revealing a young and handsome face. He looked to be a few years older than Jiang Yan.
"Shimen Mountain? It just so happens that I'm going to get in the car and give you a ride."
The young man readily invited Jiang Chan to ride in the car. Of course, Jiang Chan did not refuse. After thanking him, he sat on the other side of the car.
Jiang Yan looked back and saw that there were some hammers, hooks, chisels and other tools in the car, as well as a knife.
"Are you from Lin'ancheng?"
"Not bad" Jiang Yan said.
"My name is Lu Yufu. You don't look like a craftsman. Why are you going to Shimen Mountain?" Lu Yufu asked.
"I am a painter, but my family is poor and paint is too expensive, so I came to Shimen Mountain to see if I can find some colored stones."
Lu Yufu laughed loudly after hearing this
"Leaving aside whether Shimen Mountain is dangerous or not, even if you find those colored stones, do you know how to make paint? There are only a few people in Lin'an City who know how to make paint."
"Maybe I should feel honored, because now I have met one"
Lu Yufu looks very young, but his hands that drive the carriage are very rough, and you can even see a lot of calluses. Considering the tools pulled on the carriage and their destination, it is not difficult to guess that Lu Yufu should be a stonemason, but he is too young.
Younger.
Confucian scholars, Taoist priests, monks, scribes, and musicians had a very high status in Xuan Kingdom. Although the status of craftsmen was not as good as these, they were still highly respected.
"Sure enough, he is smart. Since he is a painter, he must have paintings, so why not let me admire them?" Lu Yufu said with a smile.
"There are a few drawings."
Jiang Yan took out a picture he had drawn casually before and handed it over from his package. Lu Yufu originally just asked casually, but after opening it, he showed a bit of shock.
A fierce tiger with empty mane and eyes wide open, with its feet on the mountain rocks and the isolated green pines behind it, has an unstoppable temperament. Although it is only an ink painting without using any paint, its majestic and domineering character still shines through the paper, which makes Lu Yufu
They all felt a little bit of oppression.
"Did you draw this?" Lu Yufu asked hurriedly.
"kindness"
Lu Yufu's eyes looked a little different when he looked at Jiang Chan. Jiang Chan was only eighteen or nineteen years old and could draw such a painting. Whether it was painting skills or layout, it was no longer a talent that could be described.
, at least no painter he knew had such a talent.
In the Xuan Dynasty, all paints came from the hands of masons, so the relationship between painters and paint masons can be described as interdependent. Behind every famous painter, there is a master craftsman supporting him. At the same time, no painter will offend anyone.
Pigment masonry.
Vice versa, masons also need to rely on painters to gain fame, and even some large-scale paintings will not only have the name of the painter, but also the name of the mason.
"This picture of a tiger descending a mountain is full of momentum. In terms of painting skills alone, it has probably reached the height of the middle grade. It just lacks a bit of evil spirit, and without the help of pigments, the painting spirit cannot be born. In the end, it is just an ordinary painting."
Even in the Qing capital of Yunzhou, there are very few people who can draw middle-grade paintings. It is hard to imagine that this painting was made by a young man. Lu Yufu is being picky.
“Mainly I can’t get so much paint together.”
Jiang Qian was a little helpless. The paints Lu Daoxuan gave him were so low that he could only make one painting at most. And now he only had two homemade paints: red and green. The tiger picture required at least four paints, so he had all his martial arts skills but couldn't use them.
Only he himself understands the melancholy.
"I live in a stone shop in the west of the city. If you want paint, you can go to my place and see. Maybe I will have some collections. As for the price, it will be cheaper than other places. Looking at the quality in the whole Yunzhou, I can guarantee you that it is absolutely top quality."
After seeing this picture of a tiger descending a mountain, Lu Yufu started to think about making friends. He was convinced that if there were no accidents, the young man in front of him might become a world-famous painter.
"Thank you very much"
Jiang Yan thought that Lu Yufu was just selling his paints to him, so he didn't take it seriously, and he didn't have that much money.
"Brother Lu, how many kinds of colored stones are there in Shimen Mountain?"
How much pigment can be found in Shimen Mountain is Jiang Yan's biggest concern.
"Bluestone and cinnabar are the two main types"
"Only two kinds?"
Seeing that Jiang Yan was a little disappointed, Lu Yufu was angry and laughed.
"What does "only" mean? In addition to ink, painters also need four colors of green, red, purple and yellow. The main peak of Yunzhou has exceeded 100 peaks 18 times, and the output of colored stones from Shimen Mountain can be ranked among the top three."
"How are colored stones made into pigments?"
Jiang Qian regretted it as soon as he asked. Like the painting method, these production methods are naturally a secret that is not taught. It was a bit offensive for him to ask, but Lu Yufu was very generous and honest.
"Only enlightened masons can make pigments and use their own spiritual power as fuel to calcine them with civil and military fires. After the colored stones are melted, they can be mixed with special glue."
"Sorry, I didn't intend to pry into the mason's secrets." Jiang Yan felt a little embarrassed.
"It doesn't matter, the manufacturing method is not a secret. The difficulty is experience. It is impossible to make paint without ten years and eight years of hard training."
Craftsmanship is a profession that relies on the accumulation of experience to achieve success. It cannot be learned in a few sentences, so Lu Yufu is not worried about others stealing his skills. More seriously, if he blindly refines without the guidance of a famous master, he may even lose it.
life.
"But I see you are not much older than me," Jiang Yan said with a smile.
"I'm different. My father and grandfather are both stonemasons. I grew up in a stone shop and became enlightened at the age of seven."
"Shimen Mountain has countless strange peaks and rocks that stretch for hundreds of miles. If you are an inexperienced person looking for colored stones here, you will undoubtedly be looking for a needle in a haystack. Why don't you let me be your guide?" Lu Yufu said with a smile.
"Free?"
From the chat just now, Jiang Gu discovered that Lu Yufu knew a lot about paintings and pigments. It would be great to have such a guide.
"Of course not, that picture of a tiger descending from the mountain is just a reward."