• Closed • Mangy Mutts in Muted Mud

[Odessa Andaris]

39th of Saun, 716

Odessa was tired. She'd spent the better part of the past three trials completing a sketch of a antsy, shaggy mutt, who was surprisingly more pleasant that his owner, despite the fact that he'd attempted to bite the young noble woman twice. The sketch should have taken one at most, but her client, Priscilla Volt, was pedantic at best, and half terrified that Odessa was out to ruin her sitting room by painting a horrifying rendition of her ugly dog. The sketch was finally done, which freed Odessa from having to deal with the mutt in her home, and the young noble woman was excited to begin the process of transferring the sketch to her canvas, and then finally beginning to paint it.

Priscilla stood beside her, a lofty woman, the wife of a rich merchant, and well and truly below Odessa in pecking order. The young artist longed to remind her of that fact as the woman hummed disapprovingly at the colour palette Odessa had prepared, the beautiful array of blues and magenta's, cyan and dust pink. "It won't do." Priscilla decided finally, setting her bony hands on her hips and turning her gaze on Odessa. "So garish and almost lewd with so many colours. This is for my home, I might remind you, and we’re not hanging it in a whore house." Odessa prickled visibly, usually plush lips thinning into a frustrated line. She loved colour, and jumped at the chance to use as many as possible in her paintings, and despite what this woman might claim, she'd never once had a result even close to 'garish'. "What would you suggest then?" She asked stiffly, looking back at the scrap of canvas, her beautiful paint's swatched in complementing rows. "Just stick to the traditional browns and reds. The colours you have for Puddles fur is fine, but there's no need for such an exuberant background. Just paint him sitting in an arm chair." Des sighed; visions of the small terrier prancing through a blooming field dashed and put to death, replaced by a boring, done to death, 'classic' portrait.

Without a word, Des moved to her kit, pulling out a range of the colours that would suit her clients request. Turning her canvas scrap over, she spread out a small amount of each, and then held it up for the woman to view. "Yes, that's perfect. If that's all, I'll be on my way, send word once it's done." Priscilla said, pulling on her gloves and making her way to the door of Odessa's apartment. "Good evening, Lady Andaris." At least she had some manner's left. Odessa decided, dropping her canvas swatch onto her tarp, frustrated beyond all else. The colours she had chosen were 'nature inspired' to say the very least, and looked strikingly similar to mud smeared over the side of a tent. Clearly, it wasn't Odessa's preferred colour choice, as the young woman would chose the more eccentric shades and hues over much else. Taking a deep, calming breath, Odessa moved to the canvas, retrieving her sketch and a stick of charcoal, to start transferring it to the large canvas frame.

[Odessa Andaris]

The process of transferring her sketch to the canvas was quick enough, and the young artist went about, using long flowing strokes of the charcoal to form the outline, and then going in with smaller strokes to add the more detailed portions, such as the dogs little black eye's and brown nose. Odessa moved her hand carefully, doing her best not to smudge the lines that she'd already made with the side of her hand. She focused on drawing in Puddles, and then once she had the dog roughly outlined, she took a step back to decide on the background. She stuck to Priscilla's request, to draw the pooch on an armchair, and quickly sketched it in, relying on a mental image of her father's favourite reading chair. Because she was only relying on memory, it took some trial and error to get the shape and positioning right, as well as to reflect the weight of the dog with how the cushions compressed and bulged.

Once the outline was done, Des moved to her kit, sitting down and pulling her palette towards her, gathering up the paint tubes that Priscilla had agreed on. She frowned as she squeezed out a small amount of each, but continued on anyway, picking up a metal spatula to begin mixing a few of the shades, creating darker and lighter shades of each one that would be used the most. Once her paints were ready, the artist stood, moving over to the prepared canvas, brush in hand. She started with the background this time, applying the base colours with broad, long strokes, creating a thin layer of colour. She moved next to a darker colour, panting it over the areas that she wanted to be more shadowed, or defined. She was careful not to layer too many colours too quickly, without first letting them time to dry, at least on the surface.

The more layer's she applied, the more depth the painting began to develop, until it was clear to see a difference between the background and foreground, giving a more realistic impression and appearance. She would leave the dog itself till last, as well as any other fine details, such as the buttons on the arm chair and the wood grain on the floor. This was the more finicky aspects of the painting, and as such would take her the longest to do. The last thing she needed was to ruin the painting in its very last stages by rushing, despite how much she wanted to be done with the job. The layering of shade and light would take the longest, and Odessa was resigned to work well into the night, if only to get that colour palette out of her sight sooner. As she worked she let her mind drift, and almost began quizzing herself to see if she could recall the specific jargon for each technique and style she used. The study of light and shade. She thought, concentrating a darker shade were the chairs shadow would fall. What is it again? Chiaro-something-something?

[Odessa Andaris]

The next morning...

Though it had taken her all afternoon, and all night, Odessa was finally finished with the monstrosity of a mutt. Technically, the painting was fine, fairly good even, if she did say so herself, and she was usually her own worst critic, but the colour selection plagued her. It was boring to look at, a standard portrait of a white shaggy dog, sitting on a dull green arm chair in a dull, brown room. Odessa would rather cut off her own fingers than to hang it in her own space, as simply the sight of it frustrated and bored her all at once. Eager to get her clients approval and store it away, out of view to dry, Odessa changed from her raggedy old painting cloths to a plain dress, and slipped out of her front door onto the street, waving down the first messenger she saw. She wrote a quick, short note to Mrs Volt, instructing the woman to come at once and approve the finished painting, before returning inside to add any small touches she may have missed to Puddle's painting.

A break and a half later, a knock came at the door, and Odessa rushed to answer it. Priscilla swept in trailed by a servant, and spared Odessa with a grudgingly polite greeting. "It's done then? Let me see!" Odessa nodded, guiding them over to the corner of her apartment set up for painting. She carefully turned the canvas around, revealing it to her client. To her relief, Priscilla seemed satisfied. "Oh! Look at him! So sweet," She cooed. "Such a shame you're allergic, or I'd have brought my little Puddle's to see it too!" Odessa nodded seriously at this. "Oh yes, very allergic, rashes and all." She lied, relieved that the merchants wife didn't seem likely to question her on the situation.

"Well, when will I be able to take it home? I can see it's still wet in places." Odessa stepped around the painting to examine it herself, hands set at her hips. "Send someone around on the 4th of next season, and I'll have it wrapped and ready to go. I thought it best to have you see it before it was done drying, so I could scrape off the paint and start again if you disliked the colours you’ve chosen." Priscilla shook her head, to Odessa's dismay. "No, this is perfect; the colour scheme will fit with my sitting room perfectly!" Odessa restrained herself from rolling her eyes, despite how much she longed to do it. Then this really is the finished product. She thought sulkily. I thought maybe once she saw it finished she'd realise how atrocious these colours are. "Well then, that's all for now. You can send my pay with you staff when they come on the fourth." Odessa said finally, moving forward with a thin paint brush to add the finishing touch; her signature in the corner.

[Malcolm]

Odessa Andaris

Knowledge:
Drawing: Sketching with charcoal
Drawing: Dogs
Drawing: Household items
Priscilla Volt: Pedantic
Painting: Swatching
Painting: Colour mixing
Painting: Portrait vs Landscape
Painting: Shading and Tone
Painting: The importance of allowing paint to dry
Painting: Applying layers for depth
Deception: A white lie

Loot: n.a
Injuries: n.a
Fame: n.a
Magic: n.a
Devotion: n.a

Story: 4/5
Collaboration: 0/5
Structure: 4/5

Comment: I liked the story, really good and full of knowledge to give that you didn’t make obvious. I enjoyed the read and look forward to reading more work by you.
Story: Under 1500 words.
Structure: A few things I noticed listed below. Really just needed a once over for final edit.

So sweet." She cooed.
Should be: So sweet," she cooed.

wet in place's."
Should be: wet in places."

colours you'e chosen
Should be: colours you've chosen?

No, this is perfect, the colour
Should be: No, this is perfect; the colour

from rolling her eye's, despite
Should be: rolling her eyes, despite

towards her,gathering up
Just needed a space between her and gathering.

that would suit her clients request.
Shoulder be: that would suit her client's request.

Des sighed, visions of the
Should be: Des sighed; visions of the

completing a sketch of a antsy
Should be: completing a sketch of an antsy