The Last Artist

There was once an artist named Rade Myner. He was an artist that knew how to do a niche style of art known as Watercrafting. The art revolved around using water to make unique paintings and sculptures and he enjoyed what he did. With the art form, he was able to craft numerous unique sculptures and paintings that not only looked beautiful but also moved when they were done.

One of his most famous works of art was known as the Highsurfer which was a sculpture that he crafted about ten years earlier that not only looked uncannily similar to a real-life surfer known as Tune Young, but it could also move in the way that a surfer would during a high tide. Needless to say, Rade took a great deal of pride in his work and often showed them to other artists.

There was something unfortunate about Rade and his style of artwork though, which was that Watercrafting was a very niche form of art and that he was possibly the only artist that knew how to do it. “This is very lonely,” thought Rade one day, “I have sent my art to many exhibitions throughout the city and very few people ever seem to notice my work.” What made this even more difficult was that Watercrafting was a very difficult form of art, which took years of practice for rewards that were minor in comparison.

“I need to go to the next art exhibit that is happening in the city,” thought Rade, “maybe then, someone will notice my work.” Rade had tried to contact other artists in the past, hoping that they would be interested in becoming his apprentice, but almost all of them said no. The few that did agree to be his apprentice all left after about a week due to the demanding nature of the artwork.

“Well, it was never easy for us,” thought Rade, “this artwork took me two decades to get right, and I do not blame people for quitting when times get tough. I thought about quitting hundreds of times when I first started, and I almost died several times.” As Rade began to pack his artwork into his car, he began to notice something wrong with his artwork.

“This isn’t good,” thought Rade as he saw that some of the painting that he made were becoming dry. In Watercrafting, it was dangerous for paintings and sculptures to become dry as without water, not only would they be unable to move in the way that was synonymous with the art style, but if they were drying for extended periods of time, they would completely fall apart.

“As if my day couldn’t get any worse,” thought Rade as he rushed back into his house and looked for the water bottle that he kept in his art studio. The water bottle contained a specialized mixture of water and other chemicals that Rade made as using normal water on his creations wouldn’t be adequate and needed a unique mixture of substances instead.

“Where is it? I know I put it somewhere around here.” Rade searched the room for about ten minutes before finding it. “This is nothing short of a miracle. If the creations didn’t receive more of this water within another ten minutes, they would very likely have been damaged and unfit to be seen at the art gallery.”

Rade quickly grabbed the water bottle and raced back to where he parked his car. Carefully pouring the mixture over his paintings and sculptures, Rade knew that doing so in the wrong order would also cause damage. After about five minutes of work, he was able to rehydrate his art pieces. “This is good,” thgouht Rade, “I thought I was going to be late for the opening, but as of right now, I have about three minutes to spare.”

Rade then finished packing his car and began the precarious one-hour journey to the gallery. He also drove very slowly as moving at high speeds was hazardous for the art pieces. Rade also knew that he needed to drive even slower as he had just rehydrated them, and so put them in an even more difficult position. “No wonder very few people are interested in this artwork,” thought Rade, “I would go insane to if I had to do all this work for almost no one to notice me.”

When Rade finally reached the gallery, he signaled a few of his friends to help him unload the art pieces that he had made. Rade had not only spent a lot of time in the previous month making the art pieces, but he also had to spend numerous sleepless nights in order to finish what he planned on making as some of the pieces he had needed to be finished with continuous work and he was sore all over his body from it.

“Well, here is to another lousy art gallery,” thought Rade, “I am just going to sit in my corner and hope that someone at least looks in my direction this time.” Rade quietly sat where he was assigned and quietly read a book while the art gallery went on. He wasn’t too discouraged as the atmosphere and sounds of the gallery made conditions less miserable and he enjoyed listening to the music in the area.

“Well, at least the music is good,” thought Rade, “maybe once my time as an artist is over, I can get a new job as a musician.” As Rade continued to read his book, suddenly another artist approached his station. Rade was genuinely surprised as in most art galleries, nobody took any interest in his work.

“Hello, sir,” said the artists, “my name is Rety Urnew. My friends call be Robbie.” Rade was a little apprehensive about the artist as he remembered that in some art galleries, other artists have pretended to take interest in his work as part of a cruel prank. “I heard about you and your work. I understand if you are suspicious about me as I have seen people fake interest in your work. They were cruel to do so, and I apologize for the misery that must’ve caused you.”

Rade remained a little cautious when talking to Robbie, but he didn’t give up. “I am wondering if you were interested in taking on an apprentice,” said Robbie, “I have studied Watercraftting before and I am aware that it is a difficult art form, but I am wiling to put in the time and effort needed to make the art pieces as wonderful as they are.” Rade was still a little suspicious, btu he visibly began to be more confident with the newcomer.

“I see,” said Rade, “you are going to spend days working on the same project and it will not be easy work. You will want to give up most days. If you are honest, you would admit that. Are you willing to take on this field despite that?” Robbie smiled and nodded when he heard what Rade told him, not letting the warning dishearten him.

“Well, my friend,” said Rade, “I expect to see you at the art studio to the right of this art gallery as that is where I work every weekday.” Robbie again nodded and asked if he needed to bring anything to work. “That studio has all the equipment we would need for now. As of right now, the only requirement is the willingness to do hard work for little pay. Again, Robbie did not look disheartened.

“I will be there teacher,” said Robbie, “you don’t have to worry about anything.” The two continued to talk until Robbie had to meet another artist that he was friends with. At the end of the art gallery, Rade was, for the first time in a long time, hopeful for the future as he began to re-pack his work into his car. “Hope is a weird thing. Can’t remember the last time I felt it. Maybe it is all false hope, but as of right now, I am willing to take that chance.”