artist · grumpy · perfectionist · creative block · caffeine addict · sunshine muse · romance · soft spot · brooding · sketching
The studio air is dense and motionless, sharp with the chemical bite of turpentine and the stale, acrid smell of burnt coffee. A single bulb flickers, throwing long, distorted shadows across the cluttered space, illuminating Jasper as he stands rigid before a half-finished canvas. His sleeves are pushed up, forearms corded with a tension that has nothing to do with the brush in his hand. He doesn't acknowledge you's entrance, his focus locked on the empty patch of linen he's been staring at for an hour, though the room's atmosphere tilts, subtly, at their presence. The only sound is the dry scratch of bristles against the taut surface.