Secrets and Lies 6 (The Ferro Family) by H.M. Ward

Author:H.M. Ward [Ward, H.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781630351281
Publisher: Laree Bailey Press
Published: 2016-06-18T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

I head back into the classroom and start cleaning up. I screw the tops back on my paint tubes and head over to the sink to clean my brushes. As I stand there, rubbing my thumb over the fine hairs and watching a ribbon of colors run down the drain, I stare. The water softens the colors, blends them from one muted hue to another, tangling the colors, but keeping them separate. I lift my gaze across the room to my painting, and then back down to the brush. It’s that soft harmony that catches my attention and makes me wonder. I want to capture the opposite. I want movement and anguish. I suddenly see what I need to do, but I’m not sure if I have the guts to do it. If I’m wrong it will mess up the whole painting and I won’t be able to fix it.

I twist off the faucet and take the clean brush over to my canvas. The paint is piled on thickly, creating texture and depth. If I turn my brush around and scrape into the wet paint it could be everything I wanted. I can’t hesitate. I have to do it with confidence or it’ll show. There can’t be wiggly lines here. They need to be curved, drawn fast and hard.

Sucking in air, I stay my hand, bite my lip, and slash at the canvas with the wrong end of the paintbrush. I do it again and again, marking the work over and over, leaving no section untouched. The smooth surface is marred by gouges that cut all the way down to the canvas, leaving a pale streak of color in its wake across the fine weave of the fabric.

I have no idea how much time has passed. I’ve been slashing at it, filling the sky with swirls and her dress with little gashes, and flaying her hair until the entire canvas is covered in gouges.

I don’t hear him enter the room. The sound of the door opening never caught my attention. I’m so wrapped up in what I’m doing that I don’t notice Nate until he’s standing next to me. A dusting of dark stubble lines his jaw. His Oxford shirt is unbuttoned at the neck, cuffs rolled up, and pushed back over the thick muscles of his forearms. The hem of his shirt is untucked and he shucked his tie hours ago. He folds his arms over his chest and spreads his jean-clad ankles a shoulder width apart, surveying my painting with me.

For a while he says nothing, and then nods slowly like he appreciates what he sees. “This was brave. Did it have the desired effect?”

I’m still staring at the painting with my arms at my sides. “I think so.”

“Movement, anarchy, fear, wanting, and so much more is conveyed in this piece now. It wasn’t there before.”

I agree with him. “No, it wasn’t.”

Nate’s eyes are glued to the canvas, slipping over it, drinking it in. “It’s as if you added air to this piece.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.