Each day, as the sun awakens, the painter prepares a delicate tea. A white peach blend. So subtle is the taste, yet the calm that follows, so immense. Alone, on an old floor pillow she smiles. A smile of tea, of happiness, of sunlight. It coexists beautifully with the calm of her eyes. Her lids rest gently on their lower counterpart, there on their own accord. Not a single muscle is tensed. Aged silver strands flow from her head and rest on her *******, yet it is only the color that's been tainted. Still as soft as a child's hair, it shines. The teapot, an old friend, sits beside her on a stout wooden table. He appears to be ancient, perhaps Japanese. Sometimes she smiles a teapot smile, glancing over at him, acknowledging his years of service. Almost as old, slight wrinkles have formed in her face, and crows' feet beside her eyes. Not distortion from mistreatment, rather small folds of time and wisdom. Perhaps an hour later, when the sun has warmed her face, strong arms, and legs, and the teapot has tipped out his last drop, she rises. An easel stands in the center of the room bearing a canvas, which reflects sunlight in rays unseen before submitting itself to a life of color, of bottles. That is the destiny of each canvas ever to sit upon this particular easel, for the room is decorated with bottles- ornaments of the ceiling. There are no walls, only windows. Large panes of glass that have withstood years of the sun's entry. From the ceiling and hooks dug into the slices of wood between the window panes, dangle an eclectic collection of bottles. Hung from different heights. Different colors. Different shapes. Translucent pastel blues and greens, light purples, dark navys, rosey pinks and the like. Together they look so strange, so beautiful, hanging from the ceiling as such. An odd concept indeed, but a sight to behold. Even more so is the light that refracts from within them casting colorful stripes and dots on the floor, never ceasing to dance til the sun goes to sleep. As the woman rises, she walks to the blank canvas. Closing her eyes for a moment, she goes within and asks to be shown her composition. Almost like a compass, her body points her to the north star of the day. Green eyes wander upwards and lock the view. Sometimes they choose a single bottle, sometimes a few, sometimes a whole landscape. Suddenly the painter takes on a sharp concentration, noting the curves, the diameter of the lip, the shades of color that make the bottle appear translucent. One day it might be an exact copy. Perhaps the bottle is what it is and is beautiful that way. But sometimes the bottle's essence is not in what is seen, but the images they incite in the painters mind. A rosey pink bottle looks rather delicate and cute, but the essence of some is darker, curvier, more violent. Or a light orange bottle might be begging to be complemented with shadows of blue. Whatever image comes to mind, whatever way the universe has wished her to paint what is before her, she takes her time. Just as she does with her tea. There is no rush. The sun's visit is long. For hours she will stand and paint until the vision is at last complete. Stepping back, she observes what she has done, looking upon it with new eyes, until she understands it and smiles once again. A smile of paint.
