The Mysterious Art Museum

Chapter 153 (1) - The Mysterious Art Museum

Bonus chapter thanks to @Chipala from Ko-fi!

Monica, Irina, and Minyoung stayed for only one day and then left.

They came rushing because of their concern for me, but they are busy people in their respective fields.

Although it was just a day, I fully realized how important I am to them. The visit of the four, including Youngju, completely lifted my spirits.

After the three women left, the next day around nine in the morning, I shouldered my painting bag, mounted my electric scooter, and started it.

“Great things are made up of small ones. Let's start those small things from today.”

Life is full of pains.

But pain passes.

Beauty, however, continues.

On a gloomy day, that is, the day I heard the rumors from the women chattering in the sushi restaurant, I rode the same road lost in thought.

But isn't it strange?

On the way home that day, I didn't see the beautiful sceneries that now fill my eyes.

“To those who wish to see flowers, flowers will always be visible.”

A quote by Henri Matisse.

It seems the world always shows me what I want to see.

Hell when my heart is hell.

Heaven when it's heaven.

I remember a line from a Korean movie I saw before.

Cry, and you will cry alone. Laugh, and the world laughs with you.

Suddenly, I admire the great artists who loved life amidst its pains and passed away. Did they also experience moments like mine?

They say time changes everything, but actually, it's I who needs to change.

Lost in thought, I rode for a while and found a place I liked. An unnamed beach. Just a seaside, hard to describe where. But strangely, it appeals to me.

I parked my scooter, took out my painting bag, and found a spot with a good view of the beach.

It's a very cloudy day today.

It doesn’t seem like it will rain, but it feels like it could start any minute.

Fortunately, it's humid, but there's no smell of rain.

After setting up my camping chair and taking out the canvas, I began mixing paints.

But my gaze is not on the paints, but on the sea. The most important thing before painting well is to see well.

Is it because it’s cloudy?

The sea looks very dark. Normally, this sea is calm and shines with an emerald light, but today it’s dark and the waves are high.

Moreover, the sun looks faint due to the cloudy weather.

“How different the sea looks on clear and cloudy days.”

I have painted the sea on a clear day. Isn’t that obvious? There’s no reason to go out and paint on a bad weather day.

Moreover, I live in the metropolitan area, so I have to make time to go to the sea, and I wouldn’t choose a bad weather day to go.

“Staying by the sea for a long time has its benefits.”

How should I paint it?

How would Teacher Mucha paint this scene?

What about Henri?

What about Klimt?

What about Monet?

And how would Van Gogh interpret this scene?

While I gaze intently at the scenery, my thoughts are elsewhere. Then suddenly, I wonder.

‘Why am I thinking this?’

I met my beloved painters in a dream.

Did I learn painting skills from them?

No, not at all.

In technical terms, I might be better than them.

I learned many art techniques developed after their deaths.

Staring quietly at the seascape, I put down my brush.

“What I learned from them is not skill, but spirit.”

But why do I need to think about how they would have painted this scenery?

I’ve already learned a lot from them.

Their thoughts and lives.

How an artist should live.

What to see, how to express, and what thoughts to embed.

Isn’t that enough?

I smiled and picked up the brush again.

“In my own style.”

I started with a light-absorbing black paint, filling about 40 cm from the bottom of the canvas.

* * *

“Hey, why did we come to a non-famous beach? Wouldn’t it be better to go to a photo spot and take lots of pictures since we've come all this way?"

"Just trust me, okay? If we go to a famous place, it's just crowded and not that great. The charm of this island is its quietness."

"Come on, let's just do as Junyoung says, you know how stubborn he is."

Three college-age boys, backpacks in tow, seem to be on a trip as they walk along the beach.

The one called Junyoung, with short hair, takes a deep breath of the sea air and smiles contentedly.

"I came here three years ago. It's an unknown beach, but it was so nice. I thought I had to come back, with friends I like."

Perhaps it was the way he spoke? Even his grumbling friends look around with a smile.

"Yeah, it's quiet and pretty. But it's too cloudy. It would have been better on a sunny day."

"The weather is supposed to be good tomorrow. We can drink at the guesthouse tonight and come back here tomorrow."

Junyoung sits down on a curb where the sea is clearly visible along the coastal road.

"Wow, it's still amazing. Jungkook, Cheoljin, sit down."

Jungkook, Cheoljin, and Junyoung sit side by side on the curb, gazing at the rough sea under the faint sun obscured by clouds.

In silence, the three are immersed in the sight of the sea, which they haven't seen in a long time.

Cheoljin speaks softly.

"We're already in our fourth year of college."

A heavy silence follows.

Being a senior in college brings many thoughts, mostly about career paths. The three, in the same situation, share similar worries.

Jungkook speaks while looking at the sea.

"Do you guys have any regrets?"

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