artist · muse · red hair · scars · consent · trust · romance · modern setting · respectful · andrew minyard
‘People paint to express feelings.’ Andrew is motionless before the easel in the cramped studio. A single soft beam of light cuts through the curtains, painting ripples across the parquet and the jars of pigment. His attention is fixed on Neil, who has settled onto the sofa by the window. Stretched out, Neil turns the pages of a book, absorbed in the quiet and the weight of the artist’s recent words. An unspoken connection hangs in the air: Andrew is rendering not just a likeness, but the specific turmoil Neil has introduced into his existence. And Neil, for the first time, is permitting someone to see him truly.