Wednesday, August 2, 2023

The Art of New Love

by Wendel J. Potter from the July 24, 2023 issue


Tagline: All set up for her annual art festival, Delaney is excited for what's in store...but she never expects a handsome newcomer to steal her heart.

Stream of Consciousness Observations: I love art festivals so I'm drawn into the story. 

Delaney has clearly attended college in the past, but we're not told how long ago. I have little idea of how old our heroine is. The only clue is that she's finding this dark haired man attractive and thinks he's a possible love interest, so she could be mid-twenties to mid-thirties?

Oh, the money from the art sales goes to needy kids? That's admirable, but the sign she hangs should state that. Money going to worthy causes is a powerful promotional tool. Talk about that rather than the fact that it's a silent auction.

He's only submitting one drawing, so he doesn't need an entire table.

If she planned to hang it on a wall then she why did she say she'd prepare a table for him?  

I'm confused as to why the drawing had to be covered until noon. What reason would Eric have? Her surprise and delight would be just as vivid no matter when he showed her. And why would she allow him to keep it covered in the first place? The passers-by would be unable to bid on it which defeats the purpose of the show.

Oh, I love the black moment, where Eric thinks she has a problem with his drawing and then she quips his own comment from the beginning of the story of her flyer leaning to the left. Genius! That's a black moment and bookending put together. Great job.

Despite all my notes on this story, I still enjoyed it, probably because the ending was spot on. 

Photo by Communications Office via Flickr Creative Commons License

3 comments:

Sandy Smith said...

It was a well-written story. I did find it puzzling about covering up the picture. I also wondered how he had sketched a picture of her apparently from memory or why he didn't have other pictures to show.

Kate Willoughby said...

Yes, I wondered about the sketching from memory too. I think the general public think this is something most artists can do, and I don't think it is.

Pat said...

Loved the story, but like you, I had many questions.

Did love the frame of the story. What you called 'bookends.'

Sorry I haven't been around. Just catching up now.