Pieces of the Puzzle

Background- My oil-painting class has been quite a time pass. Painting oranges and grapes in color, oranges and grapes in black & white, oranges and grapes in brown & yellow… I understand the idea of making us proficient in interpreting color schemes, but to tell you the truth… I had developed an allergy to the above mentioned fruits. I can paint oranges in my sleep, still have difficulties with the grapes though. So when our instructor announced that we would be having a live model for the next class (that was yesterday), I imagined a woman/man wearing a grape costume. At least they wont be sitting lifeless on a table.

Yesterday’s class, 7 pm- ‘He- the model’ was there. No grape costume. Actually no costume!! Raised my left eyebrow. Hadn’t been warned. Looked around to catch other student’s eyes. Giving suppressed looks. Everyone acting mature. Setting up their easels like there were fruits in front of them. I did the same. Trying not to look stupid. Never been in the same room with a naked stranger. Mind you, I am not complaining. Just a little taken aback. Gained internal composure in 2 minutes. Looked more closely. Hey, I have to paint him dammit! One has to look. It was all there, fresh to be painted. Boy! that’s the biggest.. er.. equipment I ever saw. How does he carry them around? ‘He- the model’ didn’t seem half as flustered. Now if the women out there think I saw George Clooney nude, let me describe this ‘He- the model’. Flabby and greying. Wondered if they got him cheap.

Anyway, the instructor gave pointers (literally pointing to his manhood) on how to paint the shadows and shapes (as he decently put it). I was asked to get a closer look as I wasn’t getting it right. Why do men have complicated body parts?! It was a little embarrassing. I hoped ‘He- the model’ wouldn’t want to see his portrait. He might have been insulted as I placed his leg in such a way the it would cover the essential parts. That saved me a lot of paint, effort and dignity.

3 lessons learnt-

1. I don’t think I can become a nude painter. You know what I mean.
2. I prefer nude females to males. No, you don’t know what I mean. I just feel women have a better body, kinda pleasing to the eye. Nude women are such a turn on.
3. I still don’t wanna paint oranges and grapes for a while.

When I was five- Love was chocolates covered in shiny wrappers.

When I was nine- Love was a another taboo word only elders used.

When I was thirteen- Love was the guy next door with dreamy eyes.

When I was seventeen- Love was intense, something to die for.

When I was twenty-one- Love was a hoax, a rude joke.

When I was twenty-five- Love was acceptance, a sacrifice.

Now at twenty-seven- I am still in the process of deciphering Love.

I am back from my disappearing act. Thanks for stopping by. I will have to catch up with all of you soon. Like an addict, I savored every bit of my trip…now I want more (droool!).

The first day we went white water rafting on the river rapids below the mountains. It was quite an adrenaline push. The fact that I knew how to swim was consoling enough not to get a heart attack every time a huge rapid doused me with so much force that I almost lost balance. The high point was when a friend fell off the raft (*suppressed laugh*) and we couldn’t get him aboard for a while. He swears I pushed him with the oars.

Next day was the starting of the hike. The hike started off with a serene walk in the woods along a gushing stream cascading on small stones, smashing the big rocks. Crossed the stream on moss covered logs with sprouting mushrooms. Every single leaf in the forest was covered with dew. Slippery stones and bright green ferns. White flowers with transparent stripes not found anywhere else on the planet. Interesting rock formations. Clearings showing the mountains tops covered in clouds. Like gigantic chimneys. Blue mountains as far as the eye can see. Saw the majestic south face of the mountain we planned to climb to the very top. Halfway during the climb, clouds encompassed us. It was like walking through the freezer aisle of a grocery store. In spite of the cool breeze, we were sweating from the hike and could see our heads smoking. Little waterfalls adorned our path. After a long tiring hike, we reached a point where we could get a 360 degree panoramic view of the mountains below. Looking above, we saw only the sky. We knew this had to be the top! We were even above the clouds. The strangest part was- we could hear it raining…below us. It was like a dream not be awakened from.