Everyday Canvas

Blues

Write a short story in which a character encounters a work of art that changes his life in a similarly noteworthy way. What resonates with the character to have such a lasting impression? How does his life change post-that-picture?

---Note: This is a great prompt which deserves a longer time to think over, but here’s what I could come up with while in a hurry. --

BLUES

“This is new!” Jan exclaimed, spotting the painting on the wall and suddenly feeling elated as soon as she entered her friend Carol’s place.

Jan had come to visit Carol because she needed her warmth and her friendship. She had been feeling blue all morning because nothing was going as planned in her life and she felt she was aging by the minute. That could be why she was so attracted to this new painting on her friend Carol’s wall.

The painting had the viewpoint of looking at a sea filled with sailboats from the shore. The top four-fifths of the canvas was rendered in almost monochrome blue with a touch of ochre at the bottom one-fifth. Some brown lines and tiny shapes were on the ochre, possibly depicting the sand and the shore. Still, light and shade played catch with each other giving the art a glassy feeling.

“A birthday gift,” Carol said, looking at the painting with doubtful eyes. “I don’t know if I like it. Maybe it is the silver finish frame that’s putting me off.”

“The frame is what makes the blues come alive,” said Jan.

“You think?” Carol’s eyes sparkled although she sounded doubtful.

“Yeah,” Jan said, “You’re lucky to be given such a gift. It is a beautiful painting with subtlety. True, it doesn’t strike the eye with many bright colors, but the blues and the way the artist played with them are magnificent.”

“Now, that you said it…maybe I’ll think differently of it,” said Carol with a happy grin.

Jan approached the painting to take another close-up look, at where the signature was. Scribbled almost illegibly at the bottom of the painting were these lines. “Commissioned for Jan, Carol’s friend, on her birthday.” Next to it, was the artist’s signature.

Jan turned to Carol, her eyes full of tears.

“It is for you,” said Carol. “I didn’t know if you’d like it, but I suspected you would. I’ll have it sent to your place immediately. Happy Birthday, Jan!”

Jan would never feel blue again since she knew she would always have Carol’s precious friendship, and in the painting, the way the artist had played with light had done away with her sadness today and probably for good.