[Windward Boardwalk] Painting Passersby (Flashback)

[Syara Skyglow]

21st Spring 511 AV Syara perched herself on a bench along the walkway of the Windward Boardwalk. From her bag she pulled a small notepad and an array of paintbrushes of varying sizes. These were followed by small tubes of paint, a thin slab of wood and a single pencil. All of these she had borrowed from a studio in the Skyglow Hold. She balanced the notepadbook on her lap over the slab of wood, then stuffed the paints and paintbrushes back into the bag. She had only taken them out to assure herself that she hadn't forgotten them. She flipped open the notepad and skipped past the used pages, full of drawing and painting exercises and doodles, as well as sketches and fully finished pieces of art. She finally found a free page and smoothed it out, poising her pencil at the ready. Syara looked up, taking in the stunning scenery of the Windward Boardwalk; the wonderfully crafted arches stretching over the passage; the pure white snow resting peacefully on the ground; the interesting and whimsical sculptures that dotted the park. A few people were slowly strolling by, taking in the beauty. Her attention returned to the paper and her pencil began to move, lightly skipping along the page as it sketched a rough outline of what she had seen. Minutes passed, and she had a basic outline of the image. She began to go over the lines that were already there, making them more pronounced.Her hand returned to her bag and she pulled out a large brush and a tube of white paint and a tube of sky blue paint. She placed the piece of wood beside her and squeezed out a small amount of each of the paints. The brush was dabbed in the white paint and the brush was brought across the page. Syara painted the ground white, from the snow. She wiped it clean on the wood and scooped up some blue paint. This time, she painted the sky on the page, trying her best to avoid going outside of the lines. Of course, she didn't always succeed, but she did her best. You could still see the lines, but the piece was now roughly coloured.

[Syara Skyglow]

She then reached for a much thinner brush from her bag and rested the thick one on the pallet. She squeezed out two different shades of brown -- light brown and dark brown. She began with the lighter of the two, filling in the trunks of trees that were scattered around the area. She applied the darker tone to the bark on the trunk. Syara's hand pulled back instinctively as she realised that she had gone outside the lines. She hurriedly rubbed the excess paint from the paintbrush onto the pallet and attempted to redirect the paint back inside the lines. She almost succeeded, but some paint was being stubborn. She sighed, exasperated. She returned to the white paint and went over the brown that had strayed from its proper route. Eventually, Syara was satisfied. She let out a little sigh again, this time of relief. She looked to the pallet and mixed a tiny bit of sky blue paint with the white, creating an even lighter blue. Syara began to shade in parts of the snowy trees, making them seem more realistic. Each stroke of the brush added to their authenticness. The trees in her painting looked almost windswept. Syara then began painting in the elaborately crafted arches that lined themselves along the snowy path. She began by mixing a darker shade of blue into the grey-blue she already had. This resulted by creating a deep blue that still had a tint of grey in it. This, she used to define the arches.

[Syara Skyglow]

Holding the notebook at arm's length, Syara scrutinized her work, nose scrunching up and amber eyes flickering from one feature to the next. The painting was nothing like she had imagined it to be. The erect trees that were mighty and strong in her mind were wobbly and covered in undesirable blotches on the page. The spindly bare branches that she imagined stretching their limbs to the sky in reverence for the Windward Boardwalk's elegance and beauty were wide and stubby, coming out at impossible angles. The arches that she had planned to be impressively detailed and intricate were as unstable as the trees and the designs ran into each other. Frustrated, Syara compared the view before her to the mess on the page. This piece did nothing to capture the magnificence of the icy wonderland that Morwen had brought into existence. The shimmering image of grace and quiet majesty that was so clear in her mind seemed unattainable at this point. How would Syara ever be able to share how she sees Avanthal with the ones around her if she didn't have the skill to do so? Refusing to allow these thoughts to discourage her, Syara become more motivated than before. If she worked hard enough, she could become a skilled artist. If she painted more often, her skills could possibly improve. Should she develop her talent for art, she would finally be able to show the ones around her her feelings through crafts and art pieces. Excited by her sudden inspiration and motivation, Syara looked at the chaos on the page with fresh eyes, which were now an optimistic mixture of carmine pink and amethyst. Instead of the hopeless monstrosity that she had seen before, she saw oodles of potential. Perhaps she should make the image more twisted and abstract? Syara eagerly dove her hand into her satchel in search of new colours. She pulled tube after tube of paints out and lay them before her. First, she saw the plainer of the colours: fawn; apricot; pistachio; plum. Her attention was then directed towards the more flamboyant colours: a strong crimson; mint; deep azure blues; bright, cheerful yellow. Of course, Syara, who was not yet experienced in the mixtures of paints, just saw different shades of the simpler primary and secondary colours. Syara gave the tubes of plum, azure and yellow a little squeeze and splotches of paint spluttered onto the wooden pallet. Flecks of yellow had landed on the brown paint. This sparked Syara's curiosity. What would a mixture of brown and yellow be like? She gingerly nudged at the yellow flecks, gently mixing them in with a small dab of brown. The result was a warm tawny brown. Interested in this new discovery, Syara applied the tawny brown to the page. She used it to straighten up the uneven tree trunks. Once she had finished, she gazed upon her work. Emerald eyes flashed with pride. It wasn't much, but it was a start. A promising one, at that.

[Syara Skyglow]

Syara began to consider the idea of painting the Windward Boardwalk in a different way to how it really looked. She had read about this technique before. What was it called again? Surrealism, was it? Gaze jumping between the notebook and the view before her, Syara realised that she didn't have to be limited to painting the world as it truly was. She could make it different; unique. She could twist things, elongate them, squash them. She could change the world's colours. The sea could be a bitter sweet orange and the snow could be a blood red. The people walking by could be ten feet tall, or as small as a Pycon. The trees could be growing from the sky, snow could be falling horizontally and the arches could be jumping about. This notion spurred on Syara's imagination. Snapping out of her whimsical thoughts, Syara noticed a young couple walking arm in arm along the path beneath the arches. They had their backs to her, but she could see that the woman had long, cascading hair and that the man was considerably taller than her. They were both dressed warmly in furs and skins. The woman was a Vantha. Her hair had the shimmering highlights of the Aurora. The man had bright red hair. Inarta, perhaps? Syara's pencil came to the page, and the basic structure of the people began to appear. Syara was not very experienced in drawing people from behind. However, she knew that if she didn't try, she would never improve. Her attempt was unsuccessful for the most part, but she understood the basic shapes needed to shape a human body. A small circular shape for the girl's torso, a slightly larger circle beneath, given the girl's uneven distribution between her hips and her shoulders. A curved line connecting them, rather long, slim legs sprouting out below. How would I draw legs from behind? Syara squinted, trying to look as subtle as possible. The knee would be... here? Since she's walking, her calf would be shorter looking from where I am, wouldn't it? There's a name for that, isn't there? Foreshortening? Syara thought back to the art books she loved to leaf through as a child, and still does now. There was a section on perspective that had a little paragraph on this. When an item is coming towards you, it can look distorted. Syara went on to the woman's head. It began with a small oval. She then added a point to its end, forming a sharp chin. The head was then widened and rounded, making it clearer that she was a Vantha. The girl's hair flowed over her shoulders, ending at her lower back. It took twists and turns in different directions. Syara then glanced up and saw that the couple had stopped, and were talking animatedly. The man, who was clearly an Inarta, was standing with his hands lifted, palms facing the girl. He was very handsome, with strong features and deep green eyes. He had an apologetic look on his face. The Vantha, who was just as attractive, possibly more so, had her hands on her hips and was leaning forwards. Her expression was fierce, but Syara could see that her blue-green eyes were tinged with red, tears pooling at the edge of her eyelid, threatening to fall. The woman turned from the Inarta man, folding her arms. She spat out some harsh but quiet words. Syara watched, intrigued. The man took a step further, but the girl barked out some more words. Syara couldn't hear them too well, but she could tell that they were speaking in Common. The man said a few more soft words, then turned and walked down the path that they were going to travel down together. Once he was gone, the girl's cheeks reddened and she brought her hands to her face. She wiped at her eyes, then looked up and walked backup the walkway, eyes blurry and unfocused. She trudged slowly along the path, feet dragging and head hung low.

[Syara Skyglow]

Momentarily stunned, Syara blinked. Never before had she seen such a drastic change in atmosphere in a matter of mere seconds. One moment, hugging and smiling with your loved one, snarling insults and refusing their touch the next, being left to wander alone. Syara wondered what could have happened to cause the girl to act that way. A love affair? Did the man do something wrong? He looked apologetic. Maybe the girl was having a bad day. Could it be that it wasn't a serious fight at all, and that the woman was just dramatic? Syara was filled with curiosity. She wanted to know the full story, even though it wasn't her business. Her attention returned to her painting. The rough pencil drawing of the girl stood alone on the page, arm outstretched, hand searching for her loved one. If I can't learn the true story thought Syara. I should just tell my own. The pencil lifted once again as the girl creeped out of Syara's sight. Beside the image of the girl with her back to the viewer, instead of the man, the same girl was formed a second time. This time, she was facing to the side, away from the previous figure. Once the basic shape of her body had been assembled, Syara added detail to her face. It was full of hurt and pain, mirroring the expression that she had seen just moments before. Such detail and work was put into the shape of the eyes and the curve of the frown that Syara failed to realise the fact that the girl's head was much to small for her body. Not until she had finished working on the girl's face did she notice how badly out of proportion the body was. Silently cursing herself, Syara stared at the disfigured form, flustered. Seconds passed, and she began sputtering with laughter. The image looked so comical, and she imagined the creature bopping down the walkway, minuscule head bouncing from side to side. Titters escaped from her mouth as she pretended that the absurd character had sat beside her on the bench. It would be difficult to see, should your head be such a size. She allowed the well-meant giggles to continue until her face and sides hurt. Finally, she began to decide on a way to fix the problem of the head the size of a walnut. Should she make the head bigger or the body smaller? She had put so much effort into the expression and she doubted that she could replicate it. Then again, it would make more sense to make the head bigger. Compared to the original figure, the second body would be too small. After much consideration, Syara made a decision, gazing upon the picture with resolve. She returned to her paints and selected a white-grey paint. She dipped her brush in and dragged it across the page.