Remington carefully placed the painting on the table and pointed at a corner of the canvas. “Here, you’re very skilled at drawing plants. Draw this part for me, and once I get Spencer to autograph it, this painting is complete. I’m going to display the works of The Three Art Musketeers of Avenport at the front row of the art exhibition for everyone’s viewing pleasure.”
“Haha! The Three Art Musketeers!” I could not help but laugh. “Have you been reading too many adventure stories, Remington? I didn’t expect you to think of this nickname. How cheesy.”
“It isn’t cheesy; it’s manly.” Remington lifted his head proudly. “You should know that every man fantasizes about swashbuckling. I’m just projecting my swashbuckling dreams. I’m sure Spencer will love this nickname, too.”
I shook and tried to stifle a laugh. I pointed at the blank spot in the middle of the canvas and chuckled. “I think you’d better paint an iris that represents the fleur-de-lis from The Three Musketeers. It suits the whole picture, and you’ll also please your flower-loving friends.”
“Good point!” It was merely a casual remark on my part, but little did I expect Remington to take it seriously and agree to it. “The Three Musketeers is good! I resonate with the fleur-de-lis. Great, I’ll go with it, then.”
“All right, I’ll look at some pictures of The Three Musketeers when I get back. I promise I’ll finish the painting.” After that, I got out my own painting and placed it on the table. “It took me a long time before I managed to paint this landscape painting. I wanted to support your first art exhibition. Take a look and tell me what you think of it.”
Instead of using brightly colored paint, I used muted colors for the entire painting. Remington was trained in classical landscape paintings, whereas I loved modern oil paintings. If a painting with vibrant colors appeared in the midst of paintings with dark colors, it would either seem like I was trying to steal Remington’s spotlight, or I was trying to offend him. That would not be good.
To accommodate Remington’s preference, I pondered for a long while before I finally came up with this classical piece.
Remington’s eyes lit up with glee when he saw my painting. He gave me a thumbs-up and praised, “I knew I was right about you. When I first saw you at the National Youth Art Exhibition and Contest, I knew you weren’t a regular participant, Yvonne. You should be learning classical landscape paintings instead of modern paintings. I won’t be able to achieve fame with you around.”
“You’re too kind. I know my abilities.” I rubbed my nose. In recent years, Remington had been hailed as the most promising young artist in the nation’s art sector. The older, established artists would sing praises about his artwork. An amateur like me was nothing compared to him.
“Don’t humble yourself. Didn’t you notice how Christopher snorted when he heard your remark? It shows that I’m a good judge of talent.” Remington winked at me and smiled charmingly.
I rolled my eyes at him. I’m just being humble. It’s not like I can agree with whatever praises thrown at me. I might not know all the ways of the world, but I’m no idiot, either.
“Is this painting still unfinished? I notice a blank spot.” After admiring the piece for a while, Remington pointed at the middle of the canvas and asked the question.
“Yes.” I nodded and groaned, “It’s my first time painting a piece with muted colors. Whenever I try to add something to the middle of the canvas, it just seems inappropriate. Thus, I decided to leave it blank. I brought this painting over today because I want you to advise me on the most suitable thing to include in the blank spot.”
Remington studied the piece silently. Then, he suggested, “Perhaps you want to add a bird’s nest on this tree branch and two flying birds. Not too big. Just a dab.”
“All right, I’ll add the birds.” I clapped joyfully. Indeed, Remington was an expert. He could easily identify the error of the painting and offer me a good suggestion.
We were chatting happily when Spencer entered. He tossed Remington’s phone to him. “Your phone has been ringing all day, but you didn’t pick it up. Answer your phone now.”
Remington accepted his phone call. Suddenly, he looked at me. “What? Did you say Crystal?”
