Though he probably should've seen her reaction to his behavior coming, it seemed a little odd. For whatever reason he didn't think she would give up quite that easily. Not that she was giving up necessarily, but she was admitting to a defeat far too early. He was more frustrated with that than he was the actual painting. However, he shrugged her off and looked back at what he had done. It wasn't pretty. It was a start, but it definitely wasn't pretty. While he didn't expect perfection, he hadn't thought it would be quite that bad. But that's what lessons were for, after all.
"I learn best when experimenting on my own." Mabelle may not have been the best teacher, but he wasn't exactly an easy student. He wasn't the type of person who liked taking orders from anyone, and classes were just far too close to that. However, they were still useful. He still appreciated learning something new. "But I wouldn't mind a second opinion. Or advice, if it's good," he explained, reaching over and tapping the handle end of the brush on her head as if tapping a pencil to a desk in thought.
"Watching next time won't kill me." Remembering who he was talking to, though, he stopped tapping the brush and paused. "I'll just find something to work on, too."