The Painting

Written by Shelley Barski

Imagine you are in an art gallery and you turn the corner to find the most beautiful painting you have ever seen. The colors are vivid and the skill is of the highest caliber. You can see that someone carefully and lovingly placed each brush stroke to create such a masterpiece. You are so intrigued that you step in closer to read the artist's name below. Perhaps you’ll be able to find a small biography about the artist and the inspiration behind such a beautiful work. But to your shock there is no nameplate, and the work has no title. Frustrated you approach a gallery attendant and inquire about the painting's title and artist.

"Oh, that painting has neither title nor artist." the attendant replies.

"How can that be?" you say. "You mean the artist was never uncovered?”

"No actually this painting is the product of spills. It's our newest experiment,” he replied. The canvas was left blank and carried from place to place and in the process it was dropped in the mud, stepped on, crushed in the grass, splattered with ink, you name it. In fact, this tree here was made by guacamole from a burrito. We have tested it many times and there's no doubt that it's guacamole. Funny eh?"

You examine the painting closer and look at the guacamole tree. The detail in the leaves and branches as the sunlight is shown filtering through them is breathtaking. You can't believe it was just a spill from a careless someone eating a burrito.

"I don't believe you," you tell the attendant. "Please would you just cut the jokes and tell me the truth about the painting? I haven't seen anything this beautiful in my life and am considering buying it."

"Oh but ma'am, we have tons of copies of this piece in our shop in the front. You can buy one there for $20.00. "

"Twenty dollars? No, I want the original. I'm an art collector."

"Well, we can't give anyone this original. We have experts studying it all the time. It is highly valuable. Wonderful accidents like this don't happen everyday you know." He chuckled.

You wrinkle your nose at his remark and give the painting one last gaze before leaving. The sunset and the landscape give you feelings of joy and contentment and stir emotion in your soul. How you wish you had known the artist who lovingly took the blank canvas and poured out his or her heart into it through the paint.

You make your way to the front desk to get a second opinion.

"Can you please tell me the artist’s name of that painting over there?"

"Oh but ma'am," the manager says, "that painting wasn't created by an artist. In fact, it was a wonderful chance of natural processes. Did you know that tree on the right was actually made by..."

"I know." You hold your hand up in disgust. "Never mind. It's a lovely piece.”

"That it is. That piece is a once-in-a-lifetime find." He smiled.

You leave the gallery reminding yourself never to return to such a pitiful place. A painting without a painter? Who ever heard of such a thing?