blue ✓

thirty five

dante and virgile in hell, detail (1850) – painting by william-adolphe bouguereau

***

harry

I excluded the days thoughts from my mind as I entered those large, art gallery doors. The fresh smell was inhaled along with the intoxicating aura of numerous artists energy, it made me smile so perfectly with those marble white floors below. I stand stiff and tall, grabbing the brochure from my back pocket. The gallery was brand new and was the new home to some of the worlds most classic artists and paintings, from Jan Vermeer to William-Adolphe Bouguereau.

I was at home between these walls of classic art.

"Keep up Harry," professor Thomas–or Paul as I was contorted by my mother to call him–spoke behind thick brows, I glared distastefully as he stepped into the art room.

"Don't want to miss anything do we?" A more feminine voice speaks to the left side of me, Amber appears with her eyes glowing the colour of melted honey today. Her sun kissed skin glowed against the lights of the gallery, I find myself staring far too long before she clicks a finger in my face. "Wake up." She giggles before we follow Paul into the other room.

"This two piece masterful exhibit is by Pierre-Auguste Cot, this first one is called "storm" and the one opposite is "springtime"." My eyes glowed against the colours of the painting, so wondrous and exhilarating. I bite into my lower lip as I take a step closer, an urge to examine the details perfectly and settle them into my brain forever.

The painting was of a curvaceous and bold woman posed against a nature inspired background, bare against the chest of a man holding her wet body. The white dress she wore clung to the curves of her porcelain skin and her breasts revealed through, almost too confident for such an intimate pose. Both pieces exhibited the same woman, a ethereal creature dawned upon by nature and man as she cradled the weight of her world. It was so beautiful, something I craved to create one day. Something this mesmerising was my goal.

"I love this one." A voice creeps up beside me and for a split second, I thought it was Lola. "So intimate." Amber says softly, eyes never leaving the canvas in front of her.

"It is amazing." I comment with a sigh. "I can only hope I create something this wonderful one day."

Amber lets a grin creep to her pink lips, and I almost see a resemblance to the woman in the painting. "You will." She says confidently, it felt like she knew my hearts desire in that moment and it made my blood buzz as I smiled.

We walked around the gallery some more, the group took their programmed route but Amber and I decided to explore on our own. It was a whole new experience to see the visuals up close, the sensations of inhaling acrylic and oil paint, the brush strokes circling around my sight and mind. I smiled as we stopped at a sculpture of a woman, the structure clean, white and porcelain, so delicate and perfect with detail.

"Wow," I gasped, admiring the structure with a smile, my eyes soon turn to the room around me. "This whole building makes me so inspired."

Amber smiles. I feel a tug in my stomach and with a feeling buzzing in my skin, I shake my negativity and decide to flow with the tug instead of resisting it. The artist inside my bones always won in the real world. I clear my throat, catching the honey eyes of the sun kissed girl again.