#142 Jerome’s Masterpiece

by Joe Owens

Jerome rubbed his eyes, trying to remove the sleepiness that continued to plague his most necessary of senses. It had been so long since he completed a sellable piece. He needed this one to work, to create a piece that would launch his career as a top tier artist. He knew there was something magical developing on the canvas, he could just feel it.

He studied the pallet with the various combinations of paint. His trained eyes and mind saw potential in all the shades before him. Jerome glanced back to the canvas and made a choice. He dabbed the brush lightly and brought it against the canvas another time.

He felt a swell of emotion, something he had heard others boast about when they were creating a signature piece, one of those once in a lifetime creations that everyone would forever credit to the artist. This work had provided him with that sense of importance. He knew he was not just imagining the feeling.

If anything Jerome was a horrible critic of his own work. The stack of canvases he considered unworthy could fill half his home. In fact they did. His girlfriend Marcy eventually learned how to manage this eccentricity and tried her best to just support him in his art.

He could hear someone behind him, but did not turn, knowing who it was.

After several moments of silence he turned to see Marcy standing with her mount agape.

“What?”

“Oh my God, Jerome! It is fantastic!”