jennlife

OK, so I have this friend.  he is a precious guy friend.  I have not known him for very long so there are some subjects and things that have not been discussed or revealed as of yet.  One of them being art.  And by that I mean our specific tastes in it.

A person’s taste in art is just that:  their taste.  But it does tend to reveal something about the person and also opens the door for judgemental reactions by other people upon revelation.  (I am trying to be delicate here.)

If someone says to you, “hey, look at this painting. I love it!”, you  kind of get a window into their soul, so to speak.  You can tell something about  that person by what they like in paintings, photographs or music.

Precious Guy wants me to do a painting for him.  First of all, let me explain the ‘hesitations’ I have with this request.  A, I have not known PG that long and am not really sure what I would do for him.  That would come to me but it would take some pondering.  B, I do this for a living so although we are friends…and this sounds “McBrat-ish”, I do paintings by commission.  ( I know, I am wincing at the sound of that myself.)

 Now comes the clincher…PG emails me a picture today of what he would like for me to paint…for free.  Oh, and yes, it was his b-day last week but umm, still don’t know you that well buddy!  Even though you IM, text and call (yes I said ‘call’…another subject for another post) me 27 times a day…I am not your best friend or girlfriend.  Just a friend, that I met through my sister, in a bar, in Athens, when we were all pretty toasted.  But he is precious and hilariously funny. 

Back to the story…PG emails this picture.  Then he texts me immediately following his email because he is sooo excited and wants my opinion.  While I am sipping my morning coffee, lounging in my pj’s (it’s still summer!), I casually open the attachment on my blackberry.  (Now I am not doing product endorsement here, it is relevant to the story.)  Upon opening, I was faced with a dilemma.  First, how to respond to PG, who is patiently awaiting my reaction.  And second, who do I call first?!  Oh my gosh, I am dying here.  I decide to call my friend that is visiting (about to move…cry, cry)  in the Hampton’s.  I do not get her.  I move on to one of my working friends (this is worth an interruption).  I explain the situation.  She immediately says ” that is a window into someone’s soul”, discussing one’s personal taste in art,  that is.  This is one of the reasons we are friends.  We both launch into a bevy of slams on poor PG and practically question his existence as a human being for sent picture.  She gets it.

Friend from the Hampton’s calls me back next.  We decide it is a good thing it is not 5:00 and we are not drinking wine.  PG would be slaughtered.  “What is he thinking?”  she shouts over the background music of ocean waves.  “Does he not know the difference between art and sports?”  OK, now I have to reveal the subject of said art.

Let’s see, once again, trying to be delicate (hahahahaha).  PG is a huge UGA fan.  His daddy played for UGA.  He pledged the same fraternity as his daddy in good old Athens.  He bleeds red, white and black.  Probably conceived ‘between the hedges”.  So the picture he sent is UGA related.  Let me back up and tell you that in the beginning of the conversation this morning, he said that he had decided what he wanted me to paint for him.  It was “something Georgia related”.  I thought, “the state?”.  No dogwoods or peaches happening here peanut boy.  Then I thought, “oh no, he means his Alma mater” and quickly shewed that thought away.  But he did. And it was. 

I opened the attachment to find a picture of a sky.  Not just any sky but a very glorious looking sky.  From the bottom of the painting (yes, it is a painting someone has already done…hmm..go to any  UGA kiosk in the mall.  You will see it.)  there is an arm extending upwards into this glorious sky.  The arm is that of, yes, a football player.  The arm is holding an even more glorious object.  A UGA football helmet. 

What do I do?  Well, seeing as how I opened it on my Blackberry (relevance) I was able to buy myself some time by responding with, “it is too small for me to see all of the details…I will have to look at it when I get to my computer” (which is 3 feet away).  My Hampton’s friend says it is my obligation to ”educate”  him on the difference between art and something you could buy at a certain store we know.  (If anyone is looking for such a piece, this fabulous store is located on 2nd Avenue in our fair city and is chock full and overflowing with college accoutrements.)

 He is still waiting.

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