Chapter 657 - 302: Painting of Parting

Detective Cat said she needed to prepare a considerable number of artworks, so the time spent would be slightly more.

This statement is not an exaggeration.

The series of paintings currently displayed on the TV screen contains a richer variety of life scenes than Professor Boggs’ "Amy."

From Amy’s meeting to her farewell, Professor Boggs painted a total of six works.

Detective Cat, however, painted nearly twenty pieces.

No one found them overly cumbersome or lengthy.

Because the expressions of the cats in each draft are different, and the appreciation varies.

Whenever the screen flickers and the gaze shifts to the next draft, viewers are reading a brand-new story.

The most wonderful part is the sensory experience during eye contact—having eye contact with the cats in the drafts may sound a bit odd.

The moment Lady Anya’s gaze meets the deep eyes of the cats painted by Detective Cat, she feels an illusion of communicating with them.

Their eyes speak!

On the draft of a cat sitting on a swing, Amy’s gaze is jubilant; the cat chasing a ball with Tony possesses both the wild nature of a predator and caregiver’s affection...

The third draft by Detective Cat left the deepest impression on the female artist.

The draft’s template is a photo scene from six months after Amy arrived at Jean Arnou’s home.

In the draft,

under the warm sunlight,

Tony and Amy fell asleep separately on the shaded chairs under the grape vines in the courtyard. The sunlight fragmented through the grape rack. Their lying postures on the chairs resembled cast from the same mold.

Both lay with their four legs facing the sky,

both with their bellies exposed.

The average temperature in New Zealand isn’t high, and both the person and cat seem a bit chilled, slightly curling their necks.

In this draft, the artist, relying on imagination, restores the scene just as the cat wakes up from sleep, with Amy squinting her eyes, twisting her head to look beyond the screen with her eyelids slightly ajar.

The image is very realistic.

The milky white paint, in the rise and fall of the painting knife, weaves the crisscrossing white fur on the folded-eared kitten’s face, with a hint of moisture.

Detective Cat captures the complete sense of bewilderment and confusion on the kitten’s face as it wakes from a good nap, neither fully awake nor asleep.

Its moist, soft gaze appears akin to a sleepy little baby.

The kitten’s tail gently sways.

Lady Anya’s heart also sways gently.

Not joking.

It’s really too cute, too playful!

Facing those protective-eyed gazes, Lady Anya’s heart brims with maternal instincts.

Even though the female artist is single-minded and opposed to marriage, gazing at the cat’s muddled expression on the screen,

she even feels the impulse to have a child, to experience the joy of being a mother, watching the child awaken from a nap in an adorable stupor.

Boggs and Detective Cat.

They are both artists full of spirit, having found the anchor point in their hearts, to present artwork featuring Amy, the cat, coming into the home, showing differences at different ages.

The professor subtly implies through fur shading that Amy grows from kitten to adult cat, and then ages, hinting at transitions of birth and reincarnation.

Detective Cat is much simpler and direct.

No painstaking gradient designs, no black and white harmonious compositions.

She simply uses the simplest yet most challenging method, matching different gazes to the cat coexisting with Amy in the drafts.

Fifteen years of time.

From ignorance to maturity, from unfamiliarity to kindness...

No matter how the environment changes, just a pair of eyes can convey it all.

This is the effortless skill belonging to the artist.

Every time the scene overlaps with the six drafts from "Amy,"

people can’t help but cast their gaze onto Boggs’ face.

Professor Boggs appears crazed.

He sporadically waves and grabs his hands in the air, occasionally pulling his beard wildly. The cat’s disorderly scratches of his white hair make his appearance fluctuate between Einstein and a cult leader.

Admiration, astonishment, confusion, sudden realization, misunderstanding...

Various expressions alternate on his face.

His mouth sometimes curls up, sometimes droops; his gaze at times disdainful, at times admiring, further enhanced by the dim light from the TV screen in the dark parlor, casting ambiguity on Professor Boggs’ cheeks.

Everything about him.

Makes the old professor’s aura appear haunted.

The assistant, seeing this scene, smiles mischievously in his heart.

"Truly beautiful; appreciating these high-definition paintings compared to illustrations printed on book pages is an entirely different experience. I thought Professor Boggs’ techniques were awe-inspiring. Unexpectedly, Lady Detective Cat’s skills are at par with no shortcomings."

He outwardly praises the two artists’ crafts respectfully, while discreetly stoking the fires.

"I am relatively an outsider, but I still feel fortunate to witness the equally matched and shining works of Professor Boggs and Lady Detective Cat."

The assistant, posing as a touched ordinary viewer moved by the painting knife art, was on the verge of tears.

Fun fact.

Artists are quite eccentric and proud, and without understanding their personalities, it’s somewhat provocative to praise two artists of the same subject together.

Many know Manet and Monet are good friends.