Not Quite a Dorian Grey Situation

Every year my town hosts "Paint the Town", where fifty-ish artists take to the streets and... well... paint the town. They set up easels wherever their artistic little hearts desire. The event goes for four days, with a two-hour session to be judged on Sunday morning.

Sunday morning also happens to be when I primarily lounge around my favorite coffee shop. I'd decided to do two things differently that day, as luck would have it. I wore a shirt that had been hanging in my closet since purchase, regarded as too bright and clingy; and rather than sitting inside, at my favorite table by the window, I decided to chance the temperature and sit out front.

I'd noticed the ladies setting up as I sipped my devil's brew and caught up on the area's least scintillating newspaper. There are a few spots in town that always get painted, the coffee shop being pretty high in the rankings. They painted for an hour or so until I was joined by Dory. We were chatting idly when the taller of this morning's two painters approached. "Pardon me, will you be there for about an hour?" Lady, I'm usually here for half the day. But I affirmed, and she went back to painting through the morning(respectfully letting me know when she was done my portion, freeing me to get a refill).

The session ended at 10:30, and I obviously asked to take a look at the finished product. It stopped me dead in my tracks.

There I was, depicted in splashes of paint. It took my breath away, it truly did. We chatted, and she gave me her card, asking that I send her the pictures I'd taken of the painting.

I finished my coffee and strolled over to where the painters were lined up, each with an art piece that looked all it's own. What a fantastic experience to see my town through the eyes of not just one, but fifty different artists! The painting didn't win any of the various prizes, but it was lovely all the same. After the judging, I moved with the crowd to the hosting gallery to see the other outcomes of this weekend. A woman we'd had painting in the inn had several lovely pieces, and another person painted the inn itself.

Looking at all of those paintings, and having time to mull things over, I've had a few thoughts. Wordsmith though I am, I can't find a way to go from one thought to another with flow, so a list will have to do.

1. An interesting part of Paint the Town is that it's usually taken very literally, by which I mean the paintings are predominantly landscapes. And even landscapes that include people don't feature them as primary fixtures. In this painting, I am very much the focus. Supporting evidence: she named it after me.

2. She told me I should wear red more often. Which I thought was funny, considering how close I came to not wearing that shirt at all.

3. What really strikes me is the way she's captured something that I wonder if others see; something that I'm surprised I'm self-aware enough to recognize. You see, I'm not looking down at my paper, or across the table to my conversational partner. I'm looking out at the street, watching the cars. I'm waiting.

4. Somehow, a total stranger captured me as I really, honestly feel. Waiting as a verb, noun, and adjective.


It was a surprisingly emotional experience, being painted. I don't know if anyone else would take it as one, but that's alright. And to answer the biggest question I'm sure the reader has at this point: Did I buy it?

...

HELL NOPE. It was my intention, but $475 is a little pricey for my income bracket. No, in the end, someone will purchase it, hang it, and never know the girl in the red.