open log

[neverfinishanyth]

Who: Leonardo and YOU
Where: Goldenrod
When: August
Summary: Care to sit for a picture or two with a little known artist named Leonardo da Vinci?
Rating: G for Good at Drawing
Log:
He made a little post on the network asking for volunteers, and now, over the course of August, those volunteers might finally get the chance to fulfill their end of the bargain. Some of the drawings might happen outdoors, or in hotel rooms, or rooftops, or anywhere the inspiration strikes him. These sketches may not result in masterpieces, or even finished works, but they certainly will result in pen and ink being put to paper.

Comments

[angewiesen]

Hey. It's Jean. Jean Kirstein.

[Despite his usual attitude, Jean kept up an air of respect around Leo. It was a military thing. When it came to art, he was outranked.]

Did you want some kind of pose or something? [His eyes wandered over to some of the sketches already on the table in appraisal.]

[neverfinishanyth]

Hmm. [Leonardo flutters around the room, fussing about his materials and the lighting.]

Perhaps, if you could stand or sit by the windows?

[He wonders what the shadows would look like when they scatter across Jean.]

[angewiesen]

In the light? Sure.

[Jean obliged without protest. He was wearing tight clothes (the hussy) and shadows fell across him at sharp angles. He really was all corners and lines-- nothing soft about him at all. I bet his buttcheeks are like razorblades.]

[He put one hand in his pocket in a casual pose, with his cheek turned towards Leo. He'd spent the better part of an hour on his hair just before this, it better be good from this perspective.]

[neverfinishanyth]

Excellent! You do not need to hold that pose the entire time, but this should do well for a start.

[And with that, he picks up a pencil and starts marking out some lines on the page. Very thin, very precise ones. Glancing up at the light that filters in, and how it catches on Jean's hair. The angles are sharp. Good. He could work with that.]

[angewiesen]

Sure.

[Jean couldn't really see how Leo was drawing from where he was standing, which was a bit of a shame. He was interested in seeing the technique of a professional.]

What kind of world are you from?

[Might as well make small talk in the meantime.]

[neverfinishanyth]

Oh, well, I worked in Firenze for a very long time, though I recently moved my workshop to Venezia. I'm not sure how best to describe my world, honestly. It's complex and fascinating, though there are some superstitions that many still cling to.

[He continues drawing as he speaks. Hm, perhaps a line here.]

[angewiesen]

Superstitions? What, like the Church or something?

[Jean was probably closer to the heart of the matter than he realized.]

I never got that. Praying seems like a waste of time when you could be doing something about your problems instead.

[neverfinishanyth]

The praying isn't so bad -- no more so than the priests themselves, who hardly seem as holy as they're described.

[There's worse the Church does, of course, but it's a little more difficult to talk about.]

[angewiesen]

Definitely not. The ones in charge in those situations are usually worse than the devil they decry.

All the gods I've heard of were just people from a long time ago anyways. There's nothing special about them. They were just in the right place in the right time.

[neverfinishanyth]

I have seen many things in nature, enough that I cannot say for certain if there is some sort of force that organizes it. It is possible that there is not, or if there is, it is a force that I do not know if it is possible to fully comprehend.

[angewiesen]

...Huh.

[He's actually really interested in this idea, and is thinking about it deeply.]

If there's someone like that out there, they're kind of a jerk.

[neverfinishanyth]

I believe that is one way to describe it, yes.

[angewiesen]

I get what it feels like to want to create something of your own, but... I wouldn't want to be responsible for that big of a mess.

[neverfinishanyth]

I certainly wouldn't want to, either. But sometimes, when you finish a drawing, it takes on a life of its own.

[angewiesen]

Heh, yeah. It does sometimes.

[A little bit of time passes in comfortable silence.]

How's it coming?

[neverfinishanyth]

Not too badly. [He places his pencil down on a nearby surface, smiling faintly.]

Would you like to see?

[angewiesen]

Yeah. [Jean felt it was okay to approach, so he did.] I want to see what a pro can do.

[neverfinishanyth]

[Leonardo steps back, leaving his sketchbook open on a nearby table. Jean's hair does, in fact, look very good from this angle, but so does the rest of him. The light caught on his cheekbones quite nicely, and the lines of his body seem sharper as well. Leonardo's line work is, as always, thin and precise, almost delicate.]

[angewiesen]

[Jean studies the drawing seriously, obviously trying to learn something. He's definitely impressed. Also:]

I don't think I've ever seen myself drawn before. It's different from photos.

[neverfinishanyth]

It is, yes. Photos are more... hm, what is the word... they take what the eye sees and compresses it into something flat.

[angewiesen]

Yeah. It's just what you see. This has... I don't know, personality? It's still totally realistic and accurate, but it captures something different.

[neverfinishanyth]

It leaves a little bit of the artist inside it.

[angewiesen]

Yeah, that's it. It's cool. I don't really know what mine looks like yet.