The Art-Deco Project

The first thing I noticed was the dots. The annoying green-yellow orbs of light that danced around my vision as my eye sight adjusted to the new amount of light in my room. I could see my ceiling, once white stucco now filled with splatters of paint-paint that I would soon have to remove. The after effects of the previous night’s euphoria kicked in, a headache, dry mouth, an urge to pee, commanding myself to start to move.

As I sat up the cramped muscles in my arms and legs popped on command. I rubbed away the sleep and make-up from my eyes and looked at my masterpiece. I couldn’t even remember what it looked like the night before, let alone where I came up with ideas for it.

A canvas was filled with a mutilated face, blonde hair stained with blood and painted in an impasto style. The hair appeared stringy and unwashed, the face was sagging down, the pale skin began as flawless around the indigo eyes, which on the canvas were embellished with buttons, but as the viewer progressed down to the proud nose and mouth the image turned sour. The skin was grey, the mouth twisted, and she had painted cracks in the chin. The person was crumbling. The background was a swirl of colors and splatters, a confusing swirl of warms and colds, like the background was at war with itself.

This was me. The person on the canvas was of direct resemblance to me. My subconscious gnawing at me for my recent activities- activities that I needed to survive. Without them my art was nothing, I could barely make a line without the euphoria that caressed every muscle and pulsated my bones. It was like being at a rock concert, except my body would make the music and my and would push out the master piece onto canvas.

My euphoria was my art.

Every night I went through the same process, it varied some nights-having a bottle of vodka over a bottle of pills. I was on a journey. I had 365 days to complete 365 paintings- a painting a day to be assembled into the largest, and hopefully greatest art exhibition of the decade-The Art Deco Project. Currently I was blogging updates of the paintings, it was a great way to keep in contact with potential galleries and buyers, and the pay pal button the bottom of her page was earning her the cash needed for the supplies.

I stumbled into the kitchen, in search of a bottle of Advil and a desperate need to make a pot of coffee. Today my goal was simple: update the blog and buy new paint. My night? That was another animal entirely.


Gerard was happy today. He finally received a good night’s rest, and today was going out to lunch with his brother and his wife. Gerard loved Alicia like a sister, and he was always delighted when he got to see Mikey so happy with her.

He longed for that kind of a relationship.

Gerard closed his apartment door and glanced up as he heard the door next to him slam shut. He couldn’t believe his eyes, the mysterious blonde was leaving her apartment. This was his chance.

“Hey!” He called an angry tone to his voice.

The girl looked startled, and raised an eyebrow at him in challenge to his outburst.

“You need to invest in a pair of headphones,” He exclaimed.

“Excuse me?” She question, baffled by his blunt declaration.

“You heard me, headphones, so you don’t keep me, and everyone else in this fucking building awake all night with your music. You blast it all night long, and I mean all night. I haven’t slept in weeks. Have some respect yeah?” Gerard stormed away.
He hoped she’d listen, the mysterious girl was never around much, and he felt that he would never see her again.

Boy, was he wrong.