Who: Miguel + Justin What: Car Painting Planning When: Saturday 9/7 Where: Justin's Apartment Rating: Low Status: Complete
Shopping for art supplies had gone well. As well as shopping for art supplies could go anyway -- any artist would agree that as soon as you stepped through the doors of the store you were Doomed. Capital D Doomed. Because no matter how much you already owned you could own more, and it would be okay. Because they were supplies and it wasn't hoarding not really.
Miguel was sure he'd spent a fortune. He wouldn't even let the checkout clerk give him a price, instead letting out a LA LA LA NO HERE, TAKE MY CARD, DON'T TELL ME. Childish? Yeah, a little. But ignorance was bliss, and Miguel just wanted to be happy.
So now with bags strewn on the floor and an easy contentedness settling about him, he sat across the table with Justin as they munched on sandwiches. "I like a proper success story, you know?"
Justin was pretty sure that he had more sketchpads then he knew what to do with. Every time he went to an art store, he somehow forgot exactly how many he had and always wound up buying more. Today for example, he’d bought three when he had at least three empty sketch pads at home. He supposed an artist could never have too many sketchpads, considering the fact that he carried one around with him almost all the time and filled them pretty quickly.
Shopping for supplies with Miguel had been an amusing and entertaining experience and he hadn’t been able to help but snicker at the look on the cashier’s face when Miguel refused to be told the total. Justin on the other hand, had wanted to know the total of his purchases and luckily it wasn’t a ridiculous amount.
“I agree. I think we got everything we’ll need. I have some cans of paint, so we can look through those for base colors.” Only an artist, or someone doing home renovation, would have random cans of paint lying around their house.
It was true: Miguel had a stack of paint cans in his own basement, both because he’d repainted his home upon buying it and because you never know what you might need that for later.
“Mmmph,” said Miguel, who apparently had no problem speaking with his mouth full. “So? What are you gonna paint on the car?”
“I’m not sure exactly yet. I’ve got two sketches; I just don’t know which to go with.” Justin reached for his sketchpad, which just happened to be on the table and flipped it open to the page that had the two sketches of the side of the car he was going to be painting then turned it around for Miguel to see, “I can’t decide which I think will look better.” Next to both sketches he’d written out what colors he’d be using.
"Well," Miguel said, considering, and looking at the sketches -- and then curiously going through the rest of the sketchbook as well, because he was a little nosey and always had been. "Depends. Do you want the sides of the car to -- match at all? I was thinking something geometric, a bit. Like one of those weird square puzzles…"
Justin didn’t mind Miguel looking through his sketchpad; he enjoyed showing off his stuff to his friends after all. What Miguel would find were various sketches of people and things Justin saw while people watching as well as his friend, which included Miguel, Tulio, Lilo and Billy; all of which he’d been able to do from memory. Then there were some of Brian, the man from his dreams. A few of which were Brian naked. He couldn’t help it, okay.
At Miguel’s suggestion, Justin looked interested, “That’s not a bad idea. That’d actually be really cool.”
“Geometrics are fun, especially on shapes that-- aren’t.” For as goofy as Miguel was sometimes, he did know his art. And he was good at it.
Justin’s sketchbook looked a lot like his own, if he had to be honest -- and he enjoyed paging through it. His might have had more cats in it, but wasn’t much lacking in naked men either. “These are good, Justin.”
Justin couldn't help but grin. He always enjoyed hearing people say his stuff was good. "Thanks. I honestly don't know what I'd do if I couldn't draw." He took a sip of his drink then reached over for a pencil and held it out to Miguel, "Care to draw up an example of what you have in mind for the car?" Justin really liked Miguel's idea and wanted to see what exactly he had in mind.
“Psh, like I haven’t already?” Miguel scooted back in his chair only long enough to grab his messenger bag from the floor, grabbing through it for his own sketchbook and slapping it down on the table and opening it up to his designs for Justin. “And I know what you mean. I mean. I have a degree in art and business, but MAN, can you even IMAGINE me being professional? Haha.”
“Well then..” Justin tucked the pencil behind his ear out of habit as he glanced at the page Miguel had opened his sketchbook to. “No. No, I can’t. That’d just be weird if you were. I’d wonder where the pod was with the real you in it.” Justin smirked and studied the sketches before looking back at Miguel, “I like these. I like these a lot. This would look really fucking cool.” He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with the car after it was painted, but for now he wasn’t thinking about that part. He just wanted to be creative with his friend.
Miguel laughed at that, shrugging a little. It was true, anything but silly didn’t really suit him. He was fine with that.
“I try,” he said, of the sketches. “We can just work on that today, instead of painting the car. You know. Sketching until we have something that fits together.”
"Sounds like a plan." Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he put in his pass code then brought up his photos and passed it across to Miguel to show him the old car he'd managed to get at the junk yard. "I've got a friend who owns a garage in Anaheim. The car is there now since I don't have a place to keep it here, but this is it."
“We could just move it to my place if you wanted. It’s a bit closer and all…” But that wasn’t a big deal today. Today was for art parties and sketching. Bassssically Miguel’s favorite thing. Really.
“So let’s get to work!”
“If you and Tulio don’t mind having it there, that’d be great. Then we won’t have to be around motor oil and all that shit in the garage when we paint,” Justin hadn’t wanted to ask Miguel to house the car since this whole car art thing had been his idea, but since Miguel was offering, he couldn’t say no. “My friend is gonna be making sure the car runs well and won’t blow up or anything then if it’s cool with the both of you, I’ll move it to your place.”
Miguel only shrugged, moving to shuffle through his new bags of art supplies for the little portable box of watercolors he’d bought. “It’s no problem. And then it’s more fun anyway, because when we want breaks we can just find stuff to do inside instead of standing around a garage.” Which was awesome, clearly. “Alright,” he said, unwrapping his paints. “Let’s get to work.”