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 Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 7:56 pm
"Actually." His smirk widened. "Most good artists only see the surface, that is why their art is as lovely as it is. If they saw what was beneth the surface they would see the dark grimy truth and no art would ever spill from their hands."
Truth was not beautiful. Truth was ugly and dirty and was not something that artists delt with. Artists delt with fantasy, they created what they wanted to see or what they knew others wanted to see. Anyone who created the truth in art did not call themself an artist. They had othernames for themselves.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:14 pm
Relm's slight frown could look as if it was from concentration as she thought over the words her subject spoke. Was he correct? Did she only see the surface, and not the truth at all? Perhaps she was imagining again. And perhaps the 'dark grimy truth' Rufus spoke of was what lay beyond those drawn shades behind his eyes. Not that it mattered. She still wanted to see for herself if given the chance.
She sighed. "Perhaps you are right." Relm let her tune lift her spirits a little, until the call to paint took over once more & she set back to work with earnest. The artist worked on Tseng's eyes first; they aimed at his employer but at the same time would follow anyone who looked at the painting. Relm smiled to herself, feeling buoyed by how they turned out, stepping lightly side to side to get the effect. Glancing back at the males she felt giddy, seeing little difference between the 'secretary' & the art save for breath of wind & body stirring the original. Her smile broadened that she seemed to capture both Tseng's presence & his unobtrusive subservience, dedication, & devotion.
Now for Rufus ShinRa. Relm dipped her brush into the blue. How to make those piercing blue eyes feel as if they were delving into the observer? The following was easy, a child's trick. But to make the eyes smirk, smile, & cut through anyone looking at the painting, that was more tricky. Relm nibbled the edge of her lip in concentration, carefully picking her way over that section of canvas. She would not use her magic to do what she wanted unless absolutely necessary. Relm stepped back, looked at the canvas then to Rufus & back again. "Perhaps we only delve far enough to show what is seen... or felt."
Still focused on her work, Relm did not realize she was speaking aloud as she continued to paint. "If we let ourselves see too much of the darkness we may go mad. Since many turn to their art to make another world... a world they can control using whatever medium is at their disposal. A world of darkness or light or whatever the artist prefers to see."
She nibbled on her lip again, effectively cutting of the unintentional flow of words from her lips. Relm stepped from side to side, watching the painted eyes that followed & pierced her to the quick. She shivered even as she smiled, again checking between subject & art. The artist leaned forward with red paint to add one last thing. Her signature.
Weaving magic to cure the paint Relm moved to flip her easel around with a proud smile. The distinguished appearance, the hints of darkness, the intelligence & poise & intrigue -all that she gleaned from watching & listening & all that had originally drawn her attention to them... all showed to her satisfaction upon the canvas.
"It is done, gentlemen." Relm announced. Then she waited with baited breath for their reaction. Or more to the point -for Rufus ShinRa's reaction.
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Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 10:33 am
She wasnt a complete idiot, he had to give her that much, but she could not see the whole picture as he could. Perhaps not even how Tseng could, then again the only person he had met who could match his mind was the man at his side.
If she could see the amount of blood staining the two she would have gone running for her life. Had she been able to see the truth of the two the painting she had done would be far far different. He got up and walked closer to look at the painting. It was nice though something about it seemed, unreal. He could see that the whole thing had not come directly from her hand.
"You have the abality to .. controll, your paints?" It was not like materia use, this was an inborn talent.
Tseng had gotten up with Rufus to inspect the painting. It was a rather intresting trick she had used on the paint and the effects were nice.
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Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:57 am
Light green eyes sparkled both in surprise & pleasure that Rufus could notice her manipulations. That spoke volumes that he was no simple connoisseur of art. "Full credits to you, Rufus ShinRa." The artist practically glowed. "I am indeed able to control my paints, though for this piece I chose only to manipulate my medium enough to turn it out in a single sitting. I did not wish to infringe any more into your probably busy schedule to dare ask for multiple sittings so that I could wait for the paint to dry between layers. This way, I am also able to add blendings I could not possibly do without the gift I was born with."
Relm contemplated a moment. Dare she tell him of what else she could control with her brush & magic talent? Why did she feel compelled to speak up about her adventures as a child in the place she was before? In ways she was reminded again of Shadow; of the darkness behind him, but none of the sadness her assassin sire carried with him. Despite her near innocent appearance, the artist-mage Relm was no stranger to bloodshed. Though she herself had never been a cold-blooded killer, even as a child she had seen darkness & devastation & her world torn asunder. She had fought monsters & tyrants & a crazed madman turned god. Relm would scarcely run to see the truth... there was far too much strength within her. Stubbornness too. No, the headstrong heroine would not back down to the face of darkness.
"As to any other tampering... I wished the painting to speak for itself. After all, it was my artistic talent I needed to express. My gift only facilitated that end. This time."
She did not bring up magic specifically. Not as an intentional means to deceive, but because of her upbringing in Thamasa. Relm needed to sense their opinions on magic first, before she offered the information freely. But then try to stop the capricious female from wanting to show off.
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:35 am
He nodded slightly as he looked at the painting. Normaly he would have said that bending the paint to your will would have deminished the value but it did look rather nice. Though he would never pay for a painting tha that had been created in that way. Art was ment to take time. Having the abality to do that gave you an advantage. Rufus was all for advantages but not ones created by magic. He had seen first and the destruction that could occur if you tried to bend the world to your wish with magic.
His eyes slid from the painting to the artist after a moment. "Are you, perhaps, trying to impress me?"
Tseng managed to hide a smirk at Rufus words. Instead he kept himself collected and watched his Boss with the artist
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 10:01 am
Relm paled. Either she was losing her touch & she was really that transparent or this male was even more perceptive than she gave him credit for. "My art called first. The strongest I have felt in quite some time that was my own."
That was true, for her mad rush of needing to paint from the leakage of Trelweny's emotions was not hers alone, and the gentle flowing ease of painting Keme held nothing of the urging the artist had felt today. "But after you saw pieces I feel are less than satisfactory I wanted to redeem myself. Show what I am truly capable of."
Then she blushed, knowing somehow by his question that he already knew the answer so she might as well admit it. "And then... yes. I wanted to impress you."
If Relm was a less bold or even remotely shy girl she would have ducked her head or at the least averted her eyes. Instead she stood up strait & bravely leveled her light green eyes on Rufus ShinRa. "You strike me as one hard to impress, but if I could do that my pride in my abilities would be justified."
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 12:35 pm
He raised a brow and looked at her silently for a few moments. Honesty was only a good trait at certian times, this was not one of them. "I would have been far more impressed if your painting did not need magic to make it how you wished."
He had seen people paint far more lovely things in far shorter times. Relm's work was lovely, but somehow it was fake to the blond Audio. "When you can make your medium do what you wish even with the restraints it presents within itself then you will impress me."
When she could make a painting look that nice in that short of a time without her magic then he would be impressed. Until then it was only a show of her having to have an advantage over her work to be able to get what she wished.
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 6:02 pm
"Oh, really?" The Artist's blood was boiling now, and not in a good way. Her tail flicked dangerously & the grip on her brush tightened. Not that she would be foolish enough to attack -it was in a way a control. The poor girl had jumped from child to adult without the benefit of learning through the teen years. "Perhaps I should have bent the truth then, or perhaps you understand less of this particular medium than I gave you credit."
Light green eyes flashed with fury of hurt pride & disappointment. "I do not need my magic..." He had used the word so now Relm felt she was justified in doing so too. "I chose too. With this type of paint to get the detail I wanted you need either time or a hairdryer. Were we in my studio or somewhere set up with more supplies than a brush and palate than I could have & would have set the magic aside. More modern style paints found in this place could have done an adequate job within the restraints I gave myself, but the quality & longevity of the work would be diminished. And I wanted no mixed mediums for this piece." She made a scoffing noise at the thought. "As I said, I painted as much for me as I did to impress you."
She knew she should control her temper better; such a display was certain to do the opposite of impress in a possitive way on such a controlled individual. On the other hand, as furious & pained as she was the headstrong female showed quite a bit of control.
Breathing deeply, Relm forced herself to calm down -though the intensity & challenge in her eyes reamained. With a flick of her red cape all but the flash of her eyes reverted to subtle calm. "Besides, in such an instance as this - magic is but a tool. And an artist uses all tools at her disposal as she would seem fit."
For she was beginning to think that Rufus ShinRa might see those around him as tools to be used. Perhaps she had not lost her chance to see more yet.
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Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 6:11 pm
"Ah but you do need your magic. If you can not get the same affect with either another meduim or without the magic then you need it. Its a simple thing." He smiled slightly and opened his mouth to speak again but was silenced when Tseng set his hand on his shoulder.
He had a pretty good idea of what Rufus had been about to say and he knew that it would not be a wise thing, even if Rufus though it was.
"I would say it is not wise to argue with someone who seems to have an almost mastry over their medium Rufus." There was an inflection on the blond's name that seemed some how out of place for their buisness relationship.
He sighed softly as he looked up at Tseng. "Perhaps you are right." his eyes lowered to Relm once again.
"Remember my dear. You only have mastery over things when you can make them do whatever you want, without the aid of anything, when ever you want it to do it"
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Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 6:49 pm
Relm seemed a little mollified, but the fight was not quite out of her yet. She was curious what Rufus had been about to say but did not ask. Her eyes narrowed a bit as well from the way the "secretary" spoke his boss' name. She closed her eyes a moment as if hoping she had not noticed nor come to such a conclusion. "Perhaps." She finally responded as she opened her light green eyes. Fire still flickered behind them although it was much more controlled than before. "But it is wise to know the limits of things, even which limits may sometimes be stretched. Some things simply cannot be made into others."
"And yes... I suppose that for what I wanted I did need magic. Because I wanted it. I am pleased with the results even if it failed to impress you. But then as I presumed you are a hard one to impress, Rufus ShinRa."
The artist began to gather together her things. She had quite enough of the city for one day. She did not bother to touch the finished pieces at all, leaving them to lean where they were. Maybe she would see if someone else wished to sell them & take the money. Relm did not care. "I guess the only way you could see for yourself what I can really do with art or magic would be for me to paint one of each for you someday. One of paints, one of magics."
Hearing the words slip out of her mouth Relm fought down a panic. Espers! Why did I say that?!? If the tone in Tseng's voice was any indication I don't have a chance! Why am I still even trying? Perhaps it was pride. Thankfully the little actress managed to keep her inner thoughts from showing. This time.
"By the way, it's yours. If you want it." She smiled a gentleness she did not feel. "And thank you for indulging me." Had she left it be for the art, & not aimed for impressing Relm would have been far happier. Too bad she always seemed to strive for the unattainable.
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Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 7:35 pm
"I have learned the value of doing things without the aid of magic." After all, materia was just another form of magic and all it had done was ruin the ShinRa company in the end. "I prefer things that are more ... natural." He looked at the painting once more, sparing a glace at Tseng, before looking back to Relm.
"Keep the painting. You wished to capture our images and you have. Perhaps it will be a nice memory for you." He doubted he would run across the artist again. He did not leave off his work for long and when he did it was not generaly to wander around the city. Though there were applications he had the need of a artist. "Tseng ...." He nodded his head at the other before turning from the artist.
Knowing what Rufus wanted he reached into his jacket and pulled out a small case. From the case he pulled a buisness card. "If you ever find yourself in the need of some work perhaps you should give us a call." He held out the card to the lady.
There were some of Rufus' clients who could easily be bribed with art and this artist was rather good at it. Reno could easily dig up her contact information and if they needed her before she contacted them they could find her.
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Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 9:00 pm
In truth, she was rather glad to keep the painting. She was pleased with it after all. And she would like to remember them... after the sting to her pride had diminished with time. And the disappointment of letting another infatuation swell up only to be dashed. Now that she was not besotted with her art, the artist could see what she refused to notice before. He was right. Again. We see only what we want to see.
Relm bit back her retort about magic being more natural than paint. Magic was already there... paint had to be created. Both could be molded into the form one chose. For Relm, magic was as natural as breathing. But she did not debate him -also knowing the ravages magic could wreck on a world, not knowing that he knew as well. For the moment, she would rather leave Rufus ShinRa's exalted company.
The gift of the card both shocked & thrilled her. Perhaps she had made an impression after all? It was the artist & not the infatuated girl that tingled with suppressed joy as she demurely accepted the proffered object. She glanced at the emblem & her suspicions of the importance of those she had painted was confirmed. Even if she had to deal with heartbreak... this would cheer her. Eventually.
She curtsied. "Thank you. And if you should have any work you would like of me..." Relm stood, knowing she was talking to both of them no matter who was speaking. "... I will respond with or without magic, however designated. I'm sure you have your ways to find me, even if I never step foot in this city again."
Which right now she did not plan to do. Not without a summons.
Tucking the two paintings of them under her arm -the only ones she felt had any real value though the others could certainly fetch generous prices- Relm inclined her head & moved to walk the opposite direction the pair were headed. Once satisfactorily away, she could warp herself out of the city at least. Then she could walk home quietly & give her mind a chance to reflect on this rather harrowing experience.
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