Justin Taylor (jstn_sunshine) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-12-10 00:42:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, justin taylor, rapunzel |
Who: Justin Taylor and Rapunzel
When: Backdated: End of November
Where: Art Gallery
What: Two artists meeting at an art show
Rating/Warnings: Family Friendly
Status: Complete
Justin enjoyed art shows whether he was a part of them or not, but he had to admit that he enjoyed the ones he was a part of a little more, because he had always liked showing off his work. And it didn’t hurt when someone bought one of his pieces. He hadn’t done many art shows over the last few months, because he hadn’t been doing much painting since Billy had left, but when his friend asked him if he wanted to be a part of this one, he’d said yes without even thinking about it because he knew that he needed to get back out there. He still had his job storyboarding, but his true passion was doing art to exhibit or sell.
He was currently mingling with a few of the people who always came to his friend’s gallery, talking about his pieces as well as the other pieces from other local artists who were included in this particular show.
Going to local art galleries was becoming something that Rapunzel was trying to do more. It was useful to make connections inside a community that she wanted to join in the near future. She was paying a lot of attention to postings online and around in the community when she saw this one was happening. It didn’t conflict with anything, so made her way to the art gallery and began to walk around. She spent her time studying the art and seeing what it was that people were drawn to. It was all about studying art as well as the people who came to see the art. She got in a couple conversations with a few other patrons, but at the moment she was standing in front of a couple paintings and studying them intently.
Justin was making his way back towards his artwork when he spotted a blond girl looking at one of his paintings. Coming to stand beside her, he smiled, “Are you enjoying the exhibit?” There was something familiar about the blond girl, but he’d talked to so many people that evening that he wasn’t placing her just yet.
The voice beside her surprised her slightly and she looked over to see who was speaking to her. The boy looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite pin down where she had seen him before. With a nod she answered him, “Oh yes, it’s quite lovely. It’s really great to get to see other people’s works. Are you exhibiting here?”
Justin nodded in response to the question then gestured towards the painting, “This is one of mine, actually.” He smiled and glanced back at the blond girl, “This section right here is mine. And I mean that kind of literally. This is usually my spot when I’m part of a show here.” Justin’s friend always gave him one of the prime spots in the gallery, which was right up front.
“Oh! That’s brilliant. I really like your paintings,” Rapunzel complimented with a smile as she walked over to get a closer look at them. It was nice to actually speak to the artist and at least she actually liked their paintings. There was nothing worse than not enjoying someone’s art and then having to speak to them about it, “And you look familiar. Why?”
“Thanks.” Justin didn’t think that these ones were as good as some others he’d done, but he’d been getting only positive comments about them, so it made him feel a little more confident about these particular ones. “Ya know, I was thinking the same thing.” He tilted his head, wracking his brain when he figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask the obvious question, “You wouldn’t happen to be on an internet community called Valarnet, would you?” It was always worth a shot to ask someone if they were on Valar cause more often than not, they were. It seemed to be the way things worked around the OC.
“Ah! Yep, that is it,” Rapunzel commented with a smile and rocked on her feet a little bit. She thought she had spoken to him on the network before, but sometimes it was hard to know when you only see a small photo of them, “So, are you selling your art professionally or do you have a part time gig?” She was curious to know if he had managed to make it with his art and wasn’t having to rely on money from another source. It wasn’t a big deal if he had a second job or anything, but she was genuinely curious about art school grads.
“I knew you looked familiar.” Justin smiled, glad that he had been right, “I’d love to do this full time, but I also work in the art department for one of the TV studios out here. I do storyboarding for a few shows.” He really did like his job though, so even if he didn’t sell his art more often, he was happy with what he was doing in the long run. Besides, he was still young; only in his mid twenties, so he had plenty of time.
“Oh, that’s really cool. How are you enjoying that? I’m thinking of doing something in illustration, so storyboarding isn’t too far of an offshoot from that,” She was always curious about people’s jobs that she could potentially work. It made sense to supplement your income with another full time gig because being an artist was incredibly hard.
“I really like it. I mean, it’s not the same as painting something like that,” He gestured to the piece they were currently standing in front of, “But I love sketching so it doesn’t always feel like work. And I really like seeing just how close they do the scene to my storyboards.” Justin had lots of other art related things he wanted to do eventually, but for right now, he enjoyed his job.
“Maybe you should look at becoming an animator? And I bet it’s fascinating to see the final product. It would be a lot of fun to compare the two and imagine it as a storyboard in your mind and then see it being done by actual humans on the screen,” Rapunzel had to admit that it sounded like something fun to do. She might have to look into that more as a potential career.
“I’ve thought about that before. Only problem is that so many things are being done with computers these days.” It seemed like most cartoons nowadays were done digitally instead of by hand and while they looked good they lacked something, “Although, I have been kind of wanting to do a comic book for awhile. I just lack the imagination to come up with a story.” Billy was supposed to help him with that part, but that was ancient history.
“Well, ya never know. I mean, you can always learn on the job on doing it digitally. That’s kind of something that holds me back from that sort of thing. I’m going to start taking classes on digital art next year, but for now it’s all physical,” Rapunzel explained to him before her eyes lit up at his next comment, “Oh gosh, that would be so much fun though! I’m sure there’s someone out there that would love to collaborate with you on a story.” The network was great for something like that.
“I could, but there’s just something about doing it all by hand. I mean, I can draw on the computer. I have a tablet for drawing, but it’s not the same.” Justin was very much a traditionalist when it came to art. He gave different mediums a try, but there were certain ones that he liked more than others. “Where are you taking classes? School or separate classes?” He was curious now and was thinking perhaps he should give digital art another try. It’s what he used a lot of the time in the dreams as a result of the nerve/brain damage he’d suffered in the dreams. He suffered the same in real life as a result, but pushed through it. “I’ve been trying to find someone. My ex boyfriend was going to help, but that’s not going to happen now.”
“I take classes at Laguna College of Art and Design. I’m thinking about going into illustration, but I’m going to keep my options open at the moment and then pick something after I’ve tried my hand a few more things,” Rapunzel explained to him. She fully understood his explanation about liking to do things by hand and gave him a nod, “Well, that’s disappointing. I say cast your net out and see if anyone responds. Someone out there will probably help you. They just don’t know it yet.”
“That’s a good idea. That’s how I felt when I finished school.” Being an artist wasn’t always easy so trying out different things was the best way to go, “If you ever want advice or just to hang out with a fellow artist, you can give me a call.” Justin pulled a business card out of his pocket and held it out to Rapunzel. He’d had the cards made up when he’d begun doing shows and always kept some on him, especially on nights like these.
“Thank you so much, Justin, I appreciate it,” Rapunzel twirled the card in her fingers for a second before tucking it into her purse. At least now she had an artist friend in the same area as her who could probably help if she ever wanted to exhibit. He would be a fount of knowledge for her, “I better finish looking at the rest of the exhibit before I have to head home. Thank you so much again!”
“No problem. I enjoy meeting fellow artists,” Justin smiled and nodded, “Hope you enjoy the rest of the show. There’s lots of great pieces.” One thing Justin liked about these shows was seeing everyone else’s work and meeting other artists like Rapunzel.