Characters, Dialogue and Setting - Journal Assignment Exercise pg. 75

I was very surprised when Jason asked me to water his plants and feed his fish while he was gone for a week visiting his parents. We really weren't very close and neither of us had ever even been in the other's apartment. Nonetheless, when he asked me to do it, I told him I'd be happy to. I'll confess part of the reason was to satiate my voyeuristic tendancies. I knew he was a painter and was interested to see what an "artist's studio" looked like. On his way to exhibits he'd often ask me what I thought of a particular painting. I always hated them; to me, they looked like a bad Picasso, but I always told him they were very interesting.
He dropped off the key Tuesday morning, and as soon as his bus pulled away, I made a beeline to his apartment. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the smell. It was a weird combination of turpentine and garlic. I could rationalize the source of the turpentine smell; the garlic source was answered by several not so empty pizza boxes scattered throughout the room. Paints, palettes, brushes and blank canvases were in one corner of the room. The majority of the apartment, however, was filled with completed paintings. Many of them had little Post-Its on the back. As I lifted them, it became apparent that Jason was marking down his paintings in an attempt to sell them. One that I looked at had a price of $100 on it. As I lifted the yellow square, I saw $200, then $300. Nearly every painting had this collection on the back of it. It was as if Jason was trying to keep track of what he had originally tried to sell it for before starting the markdown. On the kitchen table I saw a stack of bills. It was as if he wanted me to snoop! Seemingly every utility was represented, many of the bills had second, third, and final notice written on them. Near the bills, were a couple of documents from various studios thanking Jason for submitting his work, but that "unfortunately, they didn't feel his work was appropriate for their studio." I felt bad because not only had I betrayed his confidence by prying into his personal effects, but also because he seemed to ignore the tell-tale signs that he wasn't a very good artist.

Instructor Feedback

Outstanding job revealing Jason by the contents of his studio: very dimensional b/c you're using many of your senses, not just your eyes.