The Anatomy of Emotion

Chapter Five

March—Cannes

She talks with Mrs. Langston for the better part of an hour, coming out of her meeting room with a check and a mailing address for the Lifeblood paintings. Saria buzzes around like a leggy bee, finding a 'sold' plaque for the painting display, getting Maeva another tea, and preparing to package up the canvases later in the week. Eventually, she ushers in another couple who ask to commission a painting for their new house in the Loire. Maeva spends the rest of her afternoon sketching with them, trying desperately to figure out what they want. They try to inspire her with stories of their lives together, their incoming baby, a description of the house. Maeva only ends up with a headache trying to explain her need for something more concrete. She needed an object, a body part, a specific scene, something other than the wishy-washy feelings they pour onto her.

Saria brings the sketches she had done at Corin's with a couple of painkillers. Maeva leafs through the folder as her commissioners talk to each other.

"What are those?" The woman leans over.

Maeva sets them aside, "oh, nothing, please go on."

"This is beautiful," She picks up one of the sketches, "what color is it going to be?"

"Red," Maeva looks at it. Patchy and graduated, covered in thin lines she would make with a razor, "all red."

"Oh, it's going to look so passionate," the woman sighs, "what do you think, honey?"

"It's very pretty; it would contrast the order of the house and warm it up."

They look through the rest of the series, all approving noises as they ask her about colors and textures.

Finally the wife sets them down, "so what would your policy on something like this be?"

Maeva shrugs, "well, I don't commission series, but what I could do is put one under commission, and if I finish the series, you two can have first pick of the paintings."

"Perfect," the husband pulls out the cross hatched one, "we'll put this one under commission."

"Alright. How big do you want it to be?" Maeva makes notes on her sketch.

"How big were you imagining it?"

"Two by three meters. Huge. I can't say for the size of the other ones."

The woman nods, "the walls are big enough for that. Can you give us a cost estimate?"

"Commission is more expensive, and something that size, you're looking in the upper six to seven figure range. I don't negotiate on costs."

The husband raises his brows, "you're a shrewd businesswoman, Miss Leroux."

She laughs, "certainly a better businesswoman than I am an artist. Saria, please come make copies of these sketches and fetch the commission paperwork."

Saria comes dashing in and out, murmuring, "five minutes," under her breath.

Maeva smiles around her tea and watches her go. The copies and paperwork come back in three minutes, and by the fifth, Maeva is filing another check and Saria is waving them out the door.

"They were much nicer than the last couple."

"More difficult though."