AND THE MORAL OF THIS STORY IS...



An artist's life can sometimes be a disappointing one.  I happen to be slightly colour-blind and therefore don't work with colour very often.  However, a few years back, an acquaintance badgered me to do a portrait of her.  At first I declined, but she kept harping on about it until I relented and agreed.  My heart wasn't really in it, and - truth to tell - because I was a little rusty, the finished painting (done in acrylic inks) ended up looking like something a fairly talented 3rd-year school pupil might produce.

In short, not too bad, but nothing brilliant.  I forked out £70 of my own money to have it framed and mounted, and presented it to her for her birthday.  The last I knew, it was gathering dust in her attic, never having been hung on any of her walls.

However, despite its faults, the pic (which is better than the photo-scan above) surely deserves a nicer fate than the 'Dorian Gray' treatment inflicted upon it not long after completion.

The next time anyone asks, the answer is definitely going to  be no.  (Unless they're paying me for my trouble, that is.)