‘You are so beautiful.’ She had heard the words before, so many times; and every time his eyes had looked into hers and she, looking back into his eyes, had seen the universe of meaning that lay behind. And she felt beautiful; felt her life’s beauty flowing from her to him; from him to the canvas. When she looked there, she could see what he truly saw and...
The following story was translated from the Italian in 1607 by the English Poet William Grebe. Grebe claimed the original version was Boccaccio's, but Historians generally agree that it is much more likely that he just downloaded it from some web site or other. The full title given by Grebe goes on for eight pages, but in later editions it was abbreviated t...
James started his sales pitch. 'A friend of mine is a world-class artist. She was my art teacher in college. There is a big exhibition coming and she needs subjects to sketch. I owe a debt of gratitude. We met in college when I posed for art classes, making a little spending money. I always said if I could return the favor in some way, I would be glad to hel...
The Mission District is my home. San Francisco has been where my family has lived for generations. We were here long before the Anglos came to California. I live and work in my loft studio. It's located just a few blocks form the Mission San Francisco de Asís, established in 1776. My work is my life. It's also how I make a living. She came to me for a portr...
This story is set in the Soviet Union, beginning in the Communist era, when two women tourists decide to ignore the rules on export of restricted items. There are consequences for both, for one humiliating and the other highly inconvenient. The story involves a sequel, when there is a return to scene at a later time. * * * * * Chapter 1 Alone at Last I...
A friend calls you to ask if you would be interested in doing some PR work for a charity auction. There is an internationally renowned artist donating some of his paintings, and you are interested to meet him, so you agree to take the project on. You call the number you have been given, expecting to talk to a secretary, but he answers the 'phone himself. He...
It has been 18 years since Marc retired from his construction job collecting the pension he accumulated over the thirty years he worked. Rebecca his wife, who everyone affectionately calls Becca, was a house wife who took care of the kids. She also took care of her mother and father until they passed away, so she has had very little work experience outside o...
I'd met "Jen" on craigslist when she responded to one of my stories. Most emails I get are either scams, throw-away remarks, or guys asking me to double-team their wives. Jen, however, had composed a full-screen treatise on what she didn't like about my writing. Buttons were pushed. A few emails later, we were meeting for coffee downtown. A few dates later,...
The morning fog has been burned off by the warmth of the April sun which now fills the loft with a diffused light There are, as yet, no shadows. It is perfect painting time. He stands there in front of the easel, brush in hand staring at the painting. This painting is for his love; of her, seen through love's eye and crafted with a lover's touch. A nude, l...
Many years ago my mother-in-law commissioned an artist to do a painting of my wife (her daughter) and our children. My wife, thirty-one years old at the time, went to his studio with the kids and the painter told he wanted to sketch the boys before they got bored and the wife in a second time. In two sessions the kids were done so the wife begun to pose goin...