Sitting and sketching on Labyrinth Gardens

Gabrielle DiCarlo

March 21, 2009 11:52 AM

Sitting and sketching by Gabrielle DiCarlo

The Gardens had become Gabrielle’s favorite spot in the entire school. While to most, the scenery might never seem to change, but to her, there was something new everyday whether it was in the way the flowers began to open up or the people that would spend time here. It was never quite the same in its subtleties and she loved it. She loved all the challenges it provided to her eye and hand when trying to capture each of these moments. Today was another opportunity to do just that as she sat on the grass with her legs supporting her sketchbook.

Warming up, she focused on the scenery rather than any particular person. Her attention was drawn to the water fountain predominantly. She concentrated on the way the water cascaded down creating a curtain of sorts. With each line, she worked on capturing what was behind that slightly veiled curtain. A little while later, finished, she still felt captivated by the fountain and wanted to gain another perspective. Moving from her spot, she went over to the fountain, not noticing the person already there as she leaned over to watch how the water caused a ripple.

Shifting back, Gabrielle noticed the person that she had somehow missed in her fascination of the water. She wasn’t close enough to disturb them, but was near enough to have a good view of the laying figure. Balancing herself to a more comfortable sitting position, she flipped to a fresh page in her sketchbook. Holding the charcoal, she roughly outlined the extremities from the hair to the feet. The angle was a bit odd and the feet seemed bigger than they should be. Frowning, she worked on redrawing the shoes within the already drawn lines.

Holding the sketchbook away from her, she viewed her work. Satisfied, she grabbed her eraser to get rid of the other marks. Once she did that, she turned her attention to detailing the drawing a bit more. She worked on the general lines of the face and clothing. Concentrating heavily on this, she wasn’t paying attention when the person talked and thus missed what they said. She seemed to do that a lot when she was focused on her work, but it might have to do with the fact that she was drawing them. Glancing up with a blush, she apologized, “I’m sorry. Am I bothering you?”

0 Gabrielle DiCarlo Sitting and sketching 85 Gabrielle DiCarlo 1 5

Earl Valentine

March 22, 2009 2:44 AM

Wow, me too! by Earl Valentine

A certain point had come during the last year where Earl had actually starting realizing that he needed to pass the RATS and he'd been trying his best to study. But despite his best efforts, he couldn't keep himself occupied with seven years of notes and he had ended up in the gardens with a sketch book and pencil. He had wandered around for a little while, trying to find something to draw and had finally settled on an old statue in a clearing with a fountain. Not finding a bench that gave him the view he wanted, he settled himself on the grass and began to draw.

The statue was of a centaur staring at the sky and Earl was having a difficult time getting the man part and the horse part to like they actually belonged together. After a while, he even tore out the sheet of paper to start again. Except for the scratch of his pencil, a few birds chirping, and the splash of the waterfall, it was completely silent. Until Earl stopped sketching to stare at his work, but the sound of sketching continued. Earl looked around, confused before spotting a girl he didn't recognize by the fountain. And it looked liked she might be sketching. He moved himself into a sitting position.

"Hey, are you drawing me?" He waited for an answer and when she finally looked up, it was to apologize. Earl did a double-take. She was really pretty. Probably one of those transfers from Salem, since he didn't recognize her. Taking his sketch with him, he grinned and sat at the fountain with the pretty girl. Upon closer inspection, he realized, she must be a couple years younger at least and he frowned a little.

"It's fine. It's just that I've never been the subject before." He grinned and held out his hand. "I'm Earl."

0 Earl Valentine Wow, me too! 67 Earl Valentine 0 5

Gabrielle

March 22, 2009 4:12 PM

Great minds think alike by Gabrielle

Gabrielle was slightly embarrassed for having been caught drawing a complete stranger, but her humiliation was short lived when the dark-haired boy told her it was fine and held out his hand with a grin. “Oh!” She had been about to take his hand when she realized that she was still holding the charcoal. Quickly, she shifted it to her left hand in order to shake his, sure to leave behind some of the gray on his hand. “I’m Gabrielle, Gabby, Gabs, or whatever other variation you want to use. I’m not particular,” she said with a smile.

Hesitating for a moment, she added, “I used to go to Salem.” She probably hadn’t needed to add this fact since he doubtlessly had already figured it out on the basis that it was a small school that she hadn’t been a part of previously. Though, she figured that the clarification couldn’t hurt instead of him even remotely thinking that somehow he was oblivious to the world around him and had somehow never realized that she was a student at the school, which could create an awkward silence. It was just better just to get over that hurtle so that the rest of the conversation would flow easily.

“I think being a subject is harder than being on the other end drawing and such,” she said, continuing the conversation. “You have to try and stay still, which can be tiring. The worst is trying to keep when you’re in an awkward position. I took an art class last summer. We were partnered off so we each got to be the subject and the artist. Casey, that was my partner, had my head in this weird way. I had to take a lot of breaks so that my neck didn’t get too stiff.” She demonstrated the angle to which she had to hold. As she did so, she noticed the sketch that Earl was holding. “Hey, did you draw this?”

0 Gabrielle Great minds think alike 85 Gabrielle 0 5

Earl

March 22, 2009 4:34 PM

And what great minds they are by Earl

Earl ignored the charcoal on her hands. He hadn't been using charcoal this time, but he was used to it enough to not care if she got his hand a little streaky. What he did care about was her name. It rung a bell and it took all of two seconds before he realized where he had heard it before. Eavan had mentioned it. Gabby was that new roommate that sniffed auras or something. When Eavan described Gabby's weird actions, Earl had a specific image in his head of some dreamy hippie chick in tie dye. This was certainly a surprise.

Earl grinned at her funny pose. "That must've sucked. But staying still is only hard when you know you have to. I was completely oblivious to you." Then she seemed to notice Earl's own drawing and he shrugged, a little embarrassed.

"Yeah, I drew it. It's not great. It's hard to draw realistically from a statue. I got better stuff." He flipped back a couple pages to a few of the dragons he had drawn in Care of Magical Creatures, followed by a collage of sketchy portraits of unsuspecting classmates. He frowned as he looked back at his drawings. He was his own worst critic. He instead looked at the drawing Gabby had done, scooting closer to get a better look.

"Hey, that's not bad at all. How long have you been drawing?"

0 Earl And what great minds they are 0 Earl 0 5

Gabrielle

March 24, 2009 7:15 PM

That produce great work by Gabrielle

OOC: I wasn't sure what Earl's sketches looked like so I took a guess. Feel free to correct anything. :P

BIC:

Gabrielle nodded at the mention of trying to draw from a statue. “It’s really difficult, because you learn to draw from either what you see or what you imagine that it’s hard to go in reverse.” She didn’t know if that made any sense and thought to explain it further, “What I mean is that the statue was based on something seen, something real, and you are trying to capture that and not the statue. It’d be easier if you were trying to draw the statue instead.” The Italian in her had her hands moving the entire time as though it could get the point across better.

When Earl flipped to his other drawings, she peered over to get a better view. Some were more pronounced than others, but she could tell that he did have quite a bit of skill, which could be developed further. “Have you ever taken a class?” She asked. She was curious if he had gotten so far on his own or was already working with someone to develop it more. “If you haven’t, you should consider it, because you have a lot of raw talent and it can teach you a lot of techniques to be able to really bring out the potential in your designs.”

Digging around in her bag, she found one of her earlier sketchbooks and pulled it out. Turning to the beginning, she grimaced slightly at the drawings. “These were from before I started taking classes. I keep them with me to remind me to keep pushing myself.” She showed him the sketches. A lot of them, while still good, were nowhere near what she was capable of now. She put a finger on her chin as she thought about how long she had been drawing for. “Hmm. I couldn’t honestly tell you. My mom says I was born with a brush in my hand.”

Okay, so it said she was born painting and not sketching, but it had the same tone about it. She was born for art. Of course, meeting someone that appeared to share that sentiment, she just couldn’t seem to stop talking. “Have you tried any other mediums besides drawing? I’ve tried pottery and painting. I’ve also worked with fabric. I was thinking of taking a photography class this summer to help develop a new outlook on things. Maybe I’ll come back next year and take some of Sonora. So, have you ever had someone model for you? Do you mind continue being a model?” Not one to miss an opportunity, she gestured towards her sketchbook.

0 Gabrielle That produce great work 85 Gabrielle 0 5

Earl

March 24, 2009 7:49 PM

Apparently. by Earl

Earl turned his head to look at his own work as Gabby made her suggestions. Maybe he should've just tried to draw a statue of a centaur rather than a live centaur. It made sense once he heard it. "We had art classes in elementary school. That's how I figured out I like drawing, but other than that, nada. I'm thinking about majoring in art in college. My dad's making me go, so I figure, why not do something I like?" He smiled softly at Gabby keeping her early drawings. He had thrown all his old stuff away as soon as he decided he could do better.

"I've tried watercolor. It was weird. Turned out all splotchy. But I can't really afford to get all the stuff I'd need for painting. But I have tons of charcoal and pastels and stuff. They're pretty cheap to get. I'd love to do other stuff though. One of the many reasons why I can't wait to graduate from here."

A slight blush crept to his cheeks as he remembered the last girl to pose for him besides Eavan. He still had several drawings of Nic hidden at the bottom of his trunk that he hadn't been able to toss. He quickly tried to steer his mind away from the past.

"My sister poses for me all the time. She's really good at staying still. I'm not. Now that I know you'd be drawing me, I don't how good a model I'd be." He shrugged and looked at her for a second. "I've got an idea: how bout if I finish modeling for you, you model for me?"

0 Earl Apparently. 0 Earl 0 5

Gabrielle

March 25, 2009 8:00 PM

Wasn't it obvious? by Gabrielle

At the mention of college, Gabrielle became acutely aware of the fact that the boy sitting nearby was older than her by maybe a couple years if he was thinking about what he was going to major in. Somehow it had been missed with all of the art talk. While he continued the conversation, she took the opportunity to look at him from the perspective of being female rather than being an artist. He was good looking in a nontraditional sense, but then her take on traditional was the cowboy at the Ranch. The most noticeable feature of Earl was without a doubt his hair or maybe that was just what she tended to notice about guys. His was dark and shaggy, which reminded her of a puppy that you just wanted to cuddle with.

The pink tinge that came to her cheeks had her turning her face away for noticing such things and she focused on what he was actually saying. She dabbled occasionally in watercolors, but often steered away from them for that same reason, but then she really didn’t have to worry about obtaining the materials that she needed. Her parents always got her whatever she needed. They were probably her biggest supporters for art. Though, she wondered if they wanted her to go to college the way Earl’s father wanted him to or did it not matter? She had never actually given any thought to her future plans, if she would go to college or not, if she would major in art or not. But it seemed silly that if she did go to college not to major in what she loved. Still, did she even want to consider college one day?

She was thankful that she still had at least another year before she had to think about it. Maybe she would take time off. She could travel the world like her father had before he went off to school. She could take in new and exciting cultures, gain insight into new ideas. The more she thought about it, the more she was beginning to fall in love with the idea. “What else do you want to do? I want to travel all over. I’ve only been to a few places, but I want to see more, capture more. Maybe paint the pyramids or something.” She ended with a slight shrug, paying more attention to her sketchpad. As talkative as she had been before was as quiet as she was now. Why would an older boy care about what she had to say? She was only a fifth year, nothing like the attention grabbing seventh year girls.

Regardless, it was nice to have someone to talk to about the main thing that she was interested in. They had that in common and could help each other out. “Sure, that’d be great,” Gabby answered, genuinely happy about the prospect of having a male model since her class partner had been female. It was a rather different sketching field. “Okay, turn your head to the left, please. I want to get your profile down.” She had to turn to a new page, because the entire time they had been talking, she had already been working on his face. She found that getting his eyes down was the hardest part since they were hidden under the brush of hair. Casey had been a little easier in this regard since she had always had her hair pulled back into a ponytail, a style that she didn’t favor for herself. As she worked, she casually asked the question she wanted to know from the beginning, “Are you graduating soon?”

0 Gabrielle Wasn't it obvious? 85 Gabrielle 0 5

Earl

March 27, 2009 2:39 AM

It is now. by Earl

As he talked, Earl realized two things: that he was talking a lot, and that Gabby was blushing. He had no idea why, unless it wasn't a blush. Maybe she was just hot. It was almost summer and they were in the middle of the desert, despite the greenery surrounding them. She was pretty and Earl hadn't had any luck with with girls since Nic found true love. Earl secretly prayed she was cool as a cucumber.

"Honestly, I have no clue what else to do. That's why I'm not arguing with my dad about college; it's something to do. Though traveling sounds awesome. Fly around the world, painting and drawing..." He stopped talking when Gabby told him to turn his head. He did his best, quickly glancing sideways at her as she asked a question. It was a question a part of him had not wanted Gabby to ask. Was two years too big of a difference? He was probably overreacting.

"Yeah. This is my last semester" He looked at her again. She was concentrating so hard. Did he look that intense when he drew? He couldn't help the grin that crept onto his face. It eventually lead to chuckling. Earl bit his lip, but little bouts of laughter still spilled out. "Sorry. Told you I'd be bad at this. You still want me?"

0 Earl It is now. 0 Earl 0 5

Gabby

March 30, 2009 4:01 PM

Mission accomplished. by Gabby

The sound of laughter had Gabrielle looking at Earl disconcertedly. What was so funny? Did she have something on her face? That wouldn’t be surprising. Frequently, she would wipe her cheek or forehead with charcoal on her hand and it would end up leaving a smudge on her fair skin. But before she could ask, he was apologizing making it sound as though he was more amused with himself than with her, which caused a bit of a confused look to draw across her features. She didn’t think he was bad at posing, but then the stereotypical approach to posing was that one had to hold perfectly still. She thought it left something to be desired.

“Of course!” Gabrielle answered immediately. Why wouldn’t she want him to? There were always going to be challenges and this was turning out to be one of her most difficult pieces. She frowned staring down at the drawing. The nose didn’t look right and she began working within the outline she had already done. It wasn’t that the actual sketching was difficult (not that it was easy), but she wasn’t used to talking with the subject while working. Normally, they didn’t know she was sketching them or the ones that did, like Casey, were rather quiet. She assumed they wouldn’t all be like that and it was important to learn to multitask in this manner.

While she worked towards fixing the sketch, she picked up the conversation again. “What do you think college will be like? It’s hard to imagine after spending so much time in one place…or two.” She remembered when she first learned that she would be coming to Sonora. She had been excited, but also scared. She had been worried that it would be so different that she wouldn’t be able to adjust or that she might not be able to make friends, yet she had kept faith. She trusted that the Fates would take care of her just as they always had. Though, in some ways coming to Sonora had been easier than originally going to Salem had been or going out into the world might be.

It was a scary concept to think about. The real world. When she talked about traveling, she never considered that she might actually one day do it. She would eventually get to the point that Earl was at now, where he was about to graduate. Sometimes it seemed as though school would continue on forever even though realistically she came back another year older every year. Glancing over at Earl, she just had to ask, “Aren’t you scared?” Of course, he probably wasn’t. He was probably excited to get away from here. It had probably become incredibly boring and doing things like posing were probably just a way to kill time. “Want to switch?”

0 Gabby Mission accomplished. 85 Gabby 0 5

Earl

March 31, 2009 1:00 AM

Now on with Act 2 by Earl

One last laugh escaped Earl's mouth when Gabby told him she still wanted to pose, but she began asking him more serious questions. It was new to Earl to think of the future this much. Only his dad ever asked him and it was more like making sure Earl was going to college, than asking Earl what he wanted.

"I bet its better than Sonora," Earl started wondering the same thing himself. "Not that Sonora's bad, it's just confined. I think that's what the biggest difference is going to be. The freedom." There was a few seconds of silence before Earl continued. "Eh, not really. I see it as more of an adventure," he grinned.

"Yeah, switch," he said relaxing and picking up his pencil and sketchbook. He waited for Gabby to put her things away and strike a pose before leaning over and gently moving her chin over a few inches and brushing her hair out her eyes. He looked at her a moment and smiled. "There. Now I can see you," he said, not realizing that she had had trouble seeing his face.

Then he began drawing. He had a quick and sketchy way of drawing, so it began to look like Gabby after only a few minutes, but there was no detail, just various shadows and odd lines in Gabby form. Earl noticed right away that she was a lot better at being still that Earl was. She was a lot better model in a lot of ways.

"So, Gabby...I hope your boyfriend appreciates how beautiful you are." Earl looked down, a little afraid of how she would react, but glanced up just to make sure she wasn't horrified. He quickly sketched in more details, trying to get her mouth and eyes perfected.

0 Earl Now on with Act 2 0 Earl 0 5

Gabby

April 02, 2009 5:58 PM

What type of play is it? by Gabby

When Earl confirmed the suggestion, Gabrielle quickly packed her items away in her bag. She wondered if he wanted her in a certain position or if she should pick something that felt natural to her. She figured on the latter and if he wanted the former, he could make adjustments. She sat with her legs folded up and rested her elbows on her knees while he got ready to work. Gabrielle didn’t think twice about Earl pushing her hair out of her face. Doing this type of thing, one learned that personal space became null and void. There really was just no other way to getting all of the little personal details that made someone who they really were.

For the most part, she stayed still as he worked. She was glad that she was in a relaxed position instead of the one Casey had ended up putting her in. It gave her mind a chance to wander only to be drawn back to the present when Earl made a comment. A lot of people might have focused on having been called beautiful, but not her. As shallow as it might be, she knew that she was considered pretty. However, she didn’t put much stalk in it since it was only a definition of societal definition. No, what stuck out in her head was the word ‘boyfriend.’ She didn’t have one and couldn’t imagine what it would be like to actually have one.

She must have looked like a fish out of water with the way her mouth opened and closed, so unsure of what to say. Her gaze locked onto his shoe finding it suddenly highly interesting while she tried to think of how she should reply. Would it be lame to say that she didn’t? It seemed like a lot of girls her age back home had boyfriends. But it would probably be lamer to lie about it. “I don’t really have a boyfriend,” she managed to squeak out. Her blue eyes shifted back to him quickly before glancing away in a shrug. “It’s hard to really get to know someone when you went to a different school for the last few years. It seems everyone here as known each other forever.”

0 Gabby What type of play is it? 85 Gabby 0 5

Earl

April 03, 2009 3:18 AM

Its either a comedy or a tragedy by Earl

Earl tried to laugh off her fish out of water look, but it caused a little concern and embarrassment on his part. Had he gone too far? She was pretty, but she was also younger. Thoughts of her jumping up, calling him a pervert and running off to inform the authorities ran through his mind and an apology was waiting on the tip of his tongue when Gabby answered him.

Her big blue eyes caught his briefly as she said the answer he hoped for. No she didn't have anyone back home. But it sounded like she just answered him to relieve the awkward silence. Earl drew in a few more lines while she continued talking and at the end, Earl looked up.

"I see what you mean. Starting over had to suck, but you seem like the type of person who would make friends easily. You got me hooked." He smiled.

0 Earl Its either a comedy or a tragedy 0 Earl 0 5

Gabby

April 14, 2009 1:02 AM

Awww, a tragedy is no good by Gabby

Was she? Gabrielle had never taken herself to be the type to make friends easily. Most people thought she was weird, because she believed in the Fates, auras, crystal energies, and the like so they had avoided her. It didn’t bother her though. Okay, it bothered her a little bit. She wanted to have friends, but she didn’t want superficial relationships. Friendships were only worth it if she were accepted as she was and not as someone she was pretending to be. She didn’t really understand why anyone would want a fake friendship anyhow. When in need, those were the type of people that were long gone.

“Like a fish?” She asked Earl since he had mentioned that she had gotten him hooked. She waved her hand. “Don’t pay attention to that. Bad joke. I was just reminded of my dad. He puts his finger in his mouth like a fishhook. Like this” she put her right arm over her head to hook a finger on the left side of her mouth for a moment before taking it back out “then he tells my mom that she has him hooked.” Her parents could be corny and sometimes embarrassing in their affections, but she supposed it was better than the alternative. Her uncle had been married and divorced three times.

Shifting, she leaned over to get a better look at what Earl had drawn so far. Her long hair fell forward against the sides of the sketchbook. Brushing it back out of her face, she tried to study the drawing with a critical eye, but judging yourself was always a challenge and she ended up settling for the standard, “It’s good. Do you want to try any other angles? I did a profile and straightforward view, but I think they need more work.” Suddenly realizing how close she was and that her hand was resting on his, she blushed at her invasion of his personal space. “Sorry,” she said shifting back.

0 Gabby Awww, a tragedy is no good 85 Gabby 0 5