If getting a painting done was an art...
…then yours truly has a couple of contrasting experiences to narrate
I am no artist. Drawing and painting is not something I enjoyed doing.
However, it’s something I had to do when in school. Art was a subject and there’s a lot of marks at stake. I had to draw and paint, and submit a final assignment if I wanted to secure marks in that subject, and not fail.
So what does a guy who has no interest in painting do to get pass marks in the subject?
Try hard and be satisfied with a basic minimum, one may think.
Nah!
I opted for a different strategy. Outsourcing.
I used to request a fellow student to draw and paint for me, in exchange for a small gift. At times she managed to complete the assignment from start to finish. However, on some occasions, owing to her workload and getting behind schedule on other projects, she could only draw, leaving the painting bit for yours truly.
Truth be told I didn’t entire dislike painting. I did have some sense of color. Still do. And could paint a drawn entity without it being an embarrassment. It is just that I was too lazy to attempt it. On second thoughts, it took me a lot of time to select colors and paint, and hence I avoided the process as much as possible.
On a particular occasion the girl was only halfway through with the painting bit when she had to go back to another assignment. She excused herself and I was forced to complete the leftover job.
When the results were announced the art teacher called me and asked if I had completed the assignment myself. My response was an honest one. I admitted without hesitation that I had worked only 30% on it.
While he was happy with my honest response he told me categorically that my intervention had spoiled the painting.
Then he surprised me by saying that he had been aware some time back that I was outsourcing my stuff, and had no interest in art. He was also aware the girl was doing the job.
However, he always gave me decent marks because I always submitted my assignments on time, and also because I was good in curriculars — he being in charge of those activities. Yes, teachers do have a bias.
As I got promoted to a higher level, my Girl Friday switched schools. I expressed my gratitude to her, wished her the best and was immediately on the lookout for someone else. It was the last year when such outsourcing would be needed.
I zeroed in a on a guy. He was weak in other subjects and wanted my help. In exchange he was willing to help me. It’s a win-win situation. Or so I thought.
The problem was the guy had a penchant for garish colours. He could paint well alright, but his paintings always looked exaggerated and outlandish.
The art teacher was well aware of my colour coordinating abilities, and it did not take him long to figure out who I was outsourcing the job to on this occasion.
I did lose marks, not a lot though. The art teacher albeit told me he had asked the guy to do away with the outlandish colours but the latter had over the years made it a habit, and was finding it difficult to do away with it.
At the same time the art teacher also told me I had a good sense of colours and could actually have done a decent job if I had wanted to.
The appreciation felt nice. Only if had come earlier. Not that it would have made me a good artist. But at least it would have motivated me to try, to make an effort towards it.
As it turned out I had outsourced my art work during my school time and had had a mix experience. There were no regrets, of course.
Getting a painting drawn by someone else is an art, but the results aren’t exactly up to expectations always. Worse still, you cannot, and should not complain.
Even as I passed out from school it was time to be grateful, and express gratitude for the fact that one wouldn’t have to go through such ordeal again.
