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Post by Yue nó Valerian on Jan 25, 2011 16:27:20 GMT -5
The sun was hiding behind the clouds today for the first time since spring arrived. My sensitive skin could not tolerate being in the sun for long, so today was the perfect day to practice painting.
I drew my brush across the canvas, pausing to examine the tree to get an idea for its shape. Ch'in brush painting was not like D'Angeline art. It was simpler, more austere, more abstract.
I frowned at the image I had created, replacing the brush. I had painted a tree, but somehow it did not seem like a tree, like it was missing something, and I could not fathom what was missing. It was a puzzle.
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Avrielle nó Valerian
Adept
Valerian House
Daughter of Annette n? Fronsac and Niall Southerly
Posts: 988
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Post by Avrielle nó Valerian on Jan 29, 2011 16:08:28 GMT -5
I was passing through the courtyard when I saw Yue painting there. I didn't know her very well, but she seemed like she was resting, so I went over to her. "What are you painting?" I asked.
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Post by Yue nó Valerian on Jan 29, 2011 19:11:55 GMT -5
Avrielle's question startled me so that I jumped, yelping in surprise, my paintbrush clattering against the easel as it quit my hand.
"Ah, hello Avrielle," I said as I bent to retrieve my brush. "It is...a tree..." I glanced at the canvas. "Well, a tree in the Ch'in style of painting." There was a black mark where my brush had touched the canvas when I jumped, but otherwise the painting was unharmed.
"Can you see it?" I asked, wondering if her D'Angeline eyes could make sense of the abstraction.
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Avrielle nó Valerian
Adept
Valerian House
Daughter of Annette n? Fronsac and Niall Southerly
Posts: 988
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Post by Avrielle nó Valerian on Jan 29, 2011 19:21:02 GMT -5
I tilted my head. "Kind of," I said. "Though that mark you just made, if you put a few more they could be leaves."
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Post by Yue nó Valerian on Jan 29, 2011 20:05:18 GMT -5
I frowned. "I suppose that would suffice, but it seems like I would need to paint a great many leaves, and that is not how the Ch'in paint, not usually."
I set the brush down. "I am not a very good painter," I admitted. "But I cannot think of any other way to pass the time."
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Avrielle nó Valerian
Adept
Valerian House
Daughter of Annette n? Fronsac and Niall Southerly
Posts: 988
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Post by Avrielle nó Valerian on Jan 29, 2011 20:07:11 GMT -5
"Don't be silly, you're a fine painter," I said. "You just need to expand your horizons a bit. You should paint the way you want to paint, not the way you think you should paint."
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Post by Yue nó Valerian on Feb 6, 2011 0:11:32 GMT -5
I blushed, I could feel it heating my cheeks. "Well, what I meant is that it is hardly...traditional...we Ch'in are very...exacting...when it comes to art. In fact, it seems as if every art was designed to take years to perfect...or perhaps all Ch'in artists are--how do you say--sadists?" I smiled a little. I was not accustomed to smiling, my mother seemed to think it was unseemly of me, and discouraged it.
I shrugged. "We are...not so focused on the individual...as I have noticed is popular among D'Angelines." I was a fine one to speak of Ch'in customs, as my mother had not even given me birth in that country, but that much I knew from her instruction. "Even when the Emperor makes sacrifices to Heaven, he does so for the good of the people, never for himself." I stopped myself from saying anything more. "Ah, excuse me, I was born here, but at times I feel...less D'Angeline than I am...that is, less than half..."
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Avrielle nó Valerian
Adept
Valerian House
Daughter of Annette n? Fronsac and Niall Southerly
Posts: 988
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Post by Avrielle nó Valerian on Feb 10, 2011 19:01:47 GMT -5
I listened to her, but I remained unconvinced. "All the same, you're still half d'Angeline!" I exclaimed. "That's got to count for something. Besides, who will lose if you try to paint in a new way? Not me, and definitely not the d'Angeline people. No, I think that only good can come from trying something new, at least in this case."
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Post by Yue nó Valerian on Feb 12, 2011 23:26:04 GMT -5
I gave it some thought. "I suppose there is no harm in that, but forgive me if I find it hard to believe that one person can change time-honoured traditions in so little time. All the same, I find your faith in me to be...refreshing..."
A shaft of sunlight pierced the clouds then, and I squinted reflexively against the intrusion of light upon my sensitive eyes. "If I did not know any better, I would say the sun plots to come out whenever I am set on accomplishing something." I said with a small smile. "Perhaps I need...a parasol...yes, something to shield me when I am outside."
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Avrielle nó Valerian
Adept
Valerian House
Daughter of Annette n? Fronsac and Niall Southerly
Posts: 988
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Post by Avrielle nó Valerian on Feb 14, 2011 23:29:21 GMT -5
"Do you have a parasol?" I asked. "I can go get it if you need it."
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Post by Yue nó Valerian on Feb 15, 2011 22:12:38 GMT -5
I shook my head. "I think...I used to have something like it, when I was a child, but I must have grown too big for it, and I have no money of my own to purchase something like that." I pursed my lips in thought. "Perhaps...a veil of some sort would suffice? It is not as if I often leave Valerian House, but it would be nice to...be able to walk in the sunlight."
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Avrielle nó Valerian
Adept
Valerian House
Daughter of Annette n? Fronsac and Niall Southerly
Posts: 988
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Post by Avrielle nó Valerian on Mar 6, 2011 19:26:03 GMT -5
"Well, I don't want to just go rummaging through your things," I said. "Do you have many veils?"
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Post by Yue nó Valerian on Mar 20, 2011 19:25:58 GMT -5
I thought about it for a moment. "Not a veil, but I have...a cloth...that would serve the same purpose." I bit my lip. "But...it would seem strange to other people, wouldn't it? My wandering around...covered in a sheet?" The image that conjured up caused me to giggle uncontrollably, a sound that I did not often hear, especially coming from my own lips.
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Avrielle nó Valerian
Adept
Valerian House
Daughter of Annette n? Fronsac and Niall Southerly
Posts: 988
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Post by Avrielle nó Valerian on Mar 20, 2011 20:12:10 GMT -5
This girl was a bit crazy, clearly, but I kind of liked her for it. "Let's go to your room together," I suggested. "I can help you pick something suitable."
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