The Artistic Struggle (c)

Participants: Kyle Rayner + Roy G. Bivolo
Open/Closed: Closed
Location(s): Art gallery, Keystone City
Time of Day: Noon
Weather: Clear
Summary: Two artists walk into a gallery! Oh my!

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It'd been so long since he'd gone to an art gallery or even had one of his own works in one. Life as a Green Lantern and a member of the Justice League was a busy life. He would've been lying if he'd said he hadn't spent late nights working on art, trying to get pieces finished. Commissions helped pay the bills as did some comic strips in the local newspaper back home but the life of an artist was still a struggle. So many people wanted art, they wanted to consume some form of art, but they wanted it for free - They didn't want to pay for it or even tip the artist. He understood it but that didn't mean it didn't frustrate him.

That's why getting a painting into this gallery had felt so refreshing, like a breath he could finally let out, one he hadn't even known he'd been holding. The trip to Keystone was easy - flying made any trip easy. He'd dropped the painting off earlier and now stepped into the gallery in jeans and a Flash t-shirt he'd gotten from the Flash museum in order to tease Wally. The painting itself was categorized as fantasy, the people at the gallery thought it had come entirely from his imagination. Truth be told, it was just a scenery piece of Oa. Technically he didn't lie about it, but he really couldn't say the truth because how would he be able to describe knowing how Oa looks? "Hi, yes I am a Green Lantern, I painted one of the views at our main base" wouldn't have flown well.

The gallery had just opened with some waiters walking around offering fancy snacks that he didn't know the name of. Kyle shrugged to himself, snatching up something and plopping it in his mouth then trying his best to hide the grimace at how bitter whatever it was turned out to be. Served him right for not bothering to ask what the hell it was before grabbing it. He found his painting easily - The familiarity of it quickly caught his eye and he moved to where it hung on the wall.

There was always something surreal about seeing a piece he'd worked so hard on, put so much effort into, sitting there, waiting to be criticized or praised - probably both. He didn't think it was ever something he could get used to. The butterflies would never fade no matter how many times he went down this road. He quietly sighed to himself. Standing here, waiting for people to take a look and then nervously awaiting their opinions wasn't going to help. He stared at his own painting for a moment longer before he forced himself to turn on his heels and go admire someone else's art. Hopefully he could ease his own nerves as well as that of a fellow artist's.

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480 words
Roy G. Bivolo

Roy G. Bivolo had not had the same luck however. Once again turned down for his artwork due to the flashy, eyebleeding nature of his color palette, Roy had purchased a ticket into the exhibit with a comically oversized pack strapped to his back. Looking like he just got back from a hiking expedition, Bivolo's attire was surprisingly comprehensible given his usual antics, clad in a casual white T shirt and black sweats, though both had a random splattering of paint adorning them...His hair also caught in the crossfire.


Heading to the furthest in corner of the gallery, Roy sneakily began to rummage into his backpack, setting it on the ground as he fished out a rather large canvas. Struggling to lift it delicately onto an empty hook, the painting was uncovered in all it's glory. A vast expanse of blue foliage leading into a river of red rapids, cascading down between purple tree trunks adorned with brilliant pink petals flowing in the wind. Clashed in the center was a pair of Deer locking horns, being alternating pallet swaps of black and white. The one on the left being white with black accents, the reverse being true of it's rival. gazing down upon this was a vast green sky, topped off with puffy yellow clouds, and a looming orange moon off in the distance. 


"Come on...Come on...Almost there...." Grunted Roy as he stood on his toes, trying and failing to latch the hook onto the back of his portrait, repeatedly clacking the wooden framework repeatedly against the wall behind it.

Kyle Rayner