4 a.m. Adventure

Pastel in progress, 2011

I might have an art show coming up in Spring. I've been racking my brain, trying to come up with pictures that hold a narrative in some way. Or at least have interesting images.

I have a friend with magenta-pink and snow white hair. She's a botanist. Someone took a lovely photo of her, surrounded by flowers as tall as she, which were the exact same colour as her hair. It's a striking photo. So I thought I'd add it to my list of projects to do for my possible show, hoping someone would be imaginative enough to find a story behind it of their own and take it home with them.

The search began for a pastel pencil that could capture the radiant beauty in the flowers and her hair. I was halfway done with the face when I realised my carmine red just didn't cut it. It was 4 a.m. What else is open, but Wal*Mart?

Bravely fighting his fatigue, Bryan trudged with me in full winter attire, 2 hours before dawn this morning, to the local behemoth of chain stores across town. The only drivers out were police, so I mindfully watched my speed while I dreamed of finding that exact pink at the exact time I needed it.

I wondered as we strolled the empty aisles how fun it might be to work the extreme night-shift at one of these stores. Observation revealed it would be no fun at all - all the employees were stocking shelves and buffing the floors with giant, whirring machines. I couldn't imagine staying interested in such tasks for long.

Finally, we arrived at the crafts section, which was disappointingly small. In some pre-holiday frenzy, the art supplies were stripped down to ONE 8 pack of chalk pastels. None of the eight colours was even approximate, much less close, to what I needed. Frustrated, exhausted, and cold, we left for home.

At 8 this morning, I was up again, ready to scour the local art supply shop with the friendly manager and playful dog. They always carry everything an artist could possibly need ...

And there it was. Red Violet. The colour of dreams.