Art Piece

Chapter 1: Art is an obsession

Anesu was all giddy in the morning: fidgeting, shaking his leg, pouting, and mumbling as his brother worked on his tablet. Their father had remembered to pay for the Wi-Fi, which had been overlooked during the first 4 weeks of Tadiwa’s high schooling. Anesu wanted to binge watch cartoons and videos on YouTube, but his brother had other prospects on their desktop computer. Tadiwa was restlessly clicking, going from file to file, as if he had a deadline. He was uploading his artwork onto the website devianart, pininterest, Tumblr and many other art related sites. Electricity had been going lately due to the weather and Tadiwa wanted to prove a point to his classmates at school. Upon uploading, the last of his pieces and setting a wonderful looking banner that had a mountain like background and strong green vegetation that was painted by him, he sighed in relief and looked at his brother.

“Hey, Anesu, I am done now.” he said, with a smug on his face.

“Big brother you took too long, daddy said that this is my time to use the computer.” he said, sulking with his pinkie in his mouth.

“Man kids are so fickle, ahem… its important Anesu, your big brother is going to be a star on the internet. I skipped school yesterday to get most of this done.” he said, sternly.

“Can I now watch?” demanded Anesu.

“Hmm, okay… wait!”

Just after 2 minutes of him posting, the monitor’s screen began to flood with notifications from the sites he had submitted his material. Tadiwa averted his attention from his brother and immersed himself in his computer. As he closed windows and opened plenty, he scrolled through the comment section, grinning as the virtual audience gave him a standing ovation. The comments ranged from, ‘This is awesome dude’ to ‘I can’t believe a 13year old can draw at this level’. This was surely giving him an ego boost as he scrolled even further he began to see requests for art work and collaborations. Tadiwa rose up from his seat and began to jump like a mad man. He grabbed his brother, clasped him hard in a hug, and began to shout out, “Your brother is the best, man I am just killing it. Look Anesu, look at these comments, all these people are saying my drawings are cool.” Anesu at this point was astonished and taken by surprise by his brother’s impulsive antics and screamed out, “Eh, you are hurting me, let go of me.” Tadiwa realised he wasn’t thinking about his brother’s comfort at that point and released him. Tadiwa’s eyes darted at the screen, frantically mesmerised by all the positive feedback he was getting. Tadiwa began to read out each comment and even mentioned the ages of those who were giving him praise. At first Anesu saw this time dedicated to his brother’s social media praise as just an excuse not to allow him to watch cartoons on the internet, but these comments from people who didn’t know his brother were so exciting and amazing that, he couldn’t help but think that his brother was some amazing human being that had the blessing of the comment section. Anesu’s intentions were now averted towards experiencing his brother’s moment.

“Big brother, what does that word say on that Pokémon’s comment?” asked Anesu, who could only see Pikachu on the avatar of the person who had commented.

“Oh this… it’s quintessential, that’s the word.”

“What does it mean? Quit tes senti all?” stammered Anesu.

“It’s quintessential Anesu; well it means the typical or equivalent thing that meets what people expect.”

“Oh, so a ‘quintessential masterpiece’ like what that Pokémon is saying about your drawing of that doctor with the kids my age, is a masterpiece they expect?” he asked, doubtful of his articulation.

“You have become smarter haven’t you Anesu? That is exactly what I meant. You have been reading those sunrise books right? Which book number are you on now?”

“Book number 13.” he said, still doubtful of his articulation.

“Well 7 more to go, nice, you are actually way faster than me, well I mostly spent my time drawing instead of reading those books, so I think that is why you are picking up the pace.” he said, glimmering his smug at the thought of his brother also excelling at something.

“Yeah, 7 more to go, but… brother, you haven’t taught me how to draw like you. All you ever do is draw cool things and show off. You don’t want me to be also cool like you.” he said, maiming his frame with a sulk.

“Are you jealous of me? Really now, my own flesh and blood envies me? No that isn’t right because you are exactly like me!” he said, playfully caressing his brother’s nimble head that had short hair.

“You are making fun of me again, I can’t draw like you and yet you say I am like you.” he said, brushing off his brother’s hand, “all you ever do is show off when I want to watch cartoons. Daddy said we should share the computer but all you ever do is use it yourself.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you thought that way.” he said, surprised at how sensitive and perceptive his 7year old brother was. Inexperienced with such complex emotions, Tadiwa decided to conjure up a way to appease his brother.

“Well, I am not trying to trick you or anything, we are brothers, and we share the same blood and like what doctors say, skills can be hereditary. If you think I am lying then listen up!” said Tadiwa, who averted his complete attention towards his brother. Anesu felt like his brother was trying to play him for a fool once again, but didn’t try to brush him off. He waited for the lecture that his brother so often loved to give, but this time, it came in a way he least expected.

“You see Anesu, did you know that mom painted and made sculptures before you were born?”

“Huh, mom can draw? If you are lying I will ask her.” he said, in denial of what his brother had just uttered.

“Well yes, she used to paint, make nice dresses, and do a lot of those things. My talent is hereditary, meaning it’s through blood. Since we share the same blood, there is no way you can’t be as good as me or even better.” he said, with a smile.

“Hmm… so if mom did paint and draw, why did she stop? Why doesn’t she talk about it and show off like you do?”

“Well… ,” paused Tadiwa, who churned his brain to look for the right answer, “Well mom is an adult, and she is busy taking care of us and doesn’t have as much free time as she did in the past to draw a lot. I am a kid, so I am allowed to show off.”

“So are you saying when you become an adult you can’t draw? Is drawing for kids then?” asked Anesu, who seemed rather perplexed.

“No no, adults can also draw, but when they have kids and are busy with stuff like paying our school fees, buying food, bills e.t.c, it becomes difficult to always have to draw. I think it’s what they call being responsible.”

“So you are not responsible then?” asked Anesu, carelessly.

“No, you are missing the point… anyways; we inherited this talent from mom that is why I can draw. Well, dad also has a secret that is connected to art.” he said, trying to entice the boy’s heurism.

“Daddy can also draw? Big brother, I am not like a baby you can trick with sweets, treat me like a grown up.” he said, sternly, aggravated by Tadiwa’s choice of words.

“Well not draw, well… he used to do music, like jazz or something, he played the trombone back in the day, he also stopped because of adult stuff.” he said, gesticulating with his hands as if to prove the legitimacy of what he was claiming.

“Eh, music… ah, that I believe, when daddy came to my school, he showed off on the piano, it was really cool… eh, but his an adult and he showed off… I thought you said only kids show off.” he asked, drowning deeper into a quandary of his own making.

“No kid, jeez, forget what I said, anyone can show off, adults and kids… besides, my point is that we have artistic DNA so don’t worry, you will be drawing like me in no time…” he said, darting his eyes into his brother’s eyes.

“If you say so…” he said, pouting like a baboon.

“Anyways, if you really want to get started that would mean sacrificing watching your cartoons and going through some art books. Is that what you really want to do, Anesu?”

“Eh… I just want to start with the basics brother… I can still watch cartoons right?” he asked, worried about how much he would have to give to get good.

“Hmm, we will start on the weekends. You guys do art at your primary school right?”

“Yes.”

“Well ask your teacher about the colour wheel and colour combinations. Once you can tell me at least what happens when you mix blue and yellow, what primary and secondary colours are, then, your big bro will give you his time and teach you some art.” he said, with a smile.

“Big bro, can I watch cartoons now… please.” he said, forgetting the last part of his brother’s sentence.

“Oh, okay… well sure.” he said, almost annoyed by the fact that Anesu was more interested in getting his daily fix of animation.

Tadiwa stepped aside and let the young man have access to the computer, leaving him on kisscartoons.com and kissanime.com. He had fulfilled his obligation for the night and felt good, but just as he left his room, he remembered that he had Geography homework and a mathematics test the following day. He liked mathematics but hated Geography, thus he had to prepare for a gruelling studying session. As he left the study room, where the desktop that Anesu was using was, he came in to find his mother watching a South African drama called Scandal, with the maid, in the living room. The household had a consistent colour pallet for its décor: maroon curtains, black leather sofas, peach painted walls, light brown and peach tiles, and many framed artworks and picture frames. They had already had supper, which was usually had around 18:00. Tadiwa passed his maid and mother, who were deeply engrossed in the drama they were watching, and made his way into his room. The boy turned on the lights of his room and gazed at the remarkable décor of his bedroom. His bedroom looked like a custom made entity that would probably go for a lucrative price if it were to be auctioned. The walls were painted sky blue and there were a lot of white and grey patterns that were similar to that of cave paintings. These were done by him, who had insisted on painting his own room. The blankets that looked pricey were actually handmade! During his primary school days, Tadiwa had learnt how to sew dolls from scratch and how to make fabric. Arts and craft special lessons were optional in primary school, but whenever they held them, he could never resist the urge to participate. His art equipment: paint brushes, stacks of sketch books, laminating machine, paints, dyes, newspapers, and graphite pencils were all arranged in a neat manner, something he rarely managed to succeed at. The curtains had an ultra-realistic illustration of Eichiiro Oda, the creator of the popular Japanese comic book, One Piece. His cupboard had soldiered iron burnt illustrations on them. One of them was of him and his entire family on the one side of the door and the other had western superhero comic book character illustrations. There were two beds in the room: one had blue and lime sheets, belonging to Anesu and the other was Tadiwa’s, which was red and purple. As Tadiwa flung his body onto his bed, he began to think about his awesome plan. This plan was something he had wanted to do and would finally execute it the following day.

The morning had come and it was now time for both Tadiwa’s family members to prepare respectively for their course for the day. Tadiwa’s father usually woke up extremely early: just after 05:00 and was allocated the role of dropping off Tadiwa at school. Anesu’s school was so close that it was in walking distance. This meant he would get walked to school by his mother, who would also be on her way to work as a fashion and fabrics retailer. With hectic mornings, there wasn’t really ever more to say rather than the usual ‘good morning mom’ and ‘good morning dad’. The weekdays were busy and avoiding traffic jams was the most ideal desire shared among parents dropping off their children at school. This mundane drudgery of early mornings didn’t waver Tadiwa’s spirit who had an exciting surprise for his friends and enemies. Tadiwa wanted to make an outstanding intro into the art club at his school. This was his fourth week in school and he hadn’t joined it yet, in hopes of creating his social media pages and then sending each and every one who was related to the club activities the links to his pages. As soon he had been dropped off at school, he was given extra tuck money by his father to spend and was told to use it wisely. He stationed himself at the basketball courts, which were adjacent to the main auditorium and waited for more people to pile up. Being the early bird meant he had to wait for everyone else to show up, and considering he wanted to brag to these specific individuals, this was a painful wait. After 30minutes of dealing with the erratic cold weather of the morning, more students began to appear. Takura, a tall, oblong faced ebony light skinned boy showed up, with his head phones and sketch pad. He was wearing the slick khaki uniform with a maroon and green tie and maroon blazer. He had short hair and almond eyes, the kind that made him look like he was a Korean with a darker pigment. He pointed at Tadiwa and said, “I think you literally live here you wanker. How can you be this early?” Tadiwa glared at him and said, “Hey, don’t insult me with your life goal, I am not a wanker.” Takura immediately broke into laughter and then patted Tadiwa on the back.

“Hmm, I saw that link you sent me on w******p, you must be on drugs to be producing this kind of art, I wonder why you aren’t doing art as a subject?” he asked, confused by Tadiwa’s stance.

“Well, I wouldn’t really learn anything new, I am pretty sure I am the best artist in the entire school, besides… I might take it up as an extra subject later on. I mean that is a guaranteed A on my O’level certificate so, why not.” he said, with a smug on his face.

“You are pretty cocky and over confident huh, this is why I don’t ever feel bad insulting you… “ he said, chuckling at Tadiwa.

“Well, nobodies are never insulted because no one acknowledges their existence, which reminds me, if you have trouble with that still life painting, you know where to come through.” he said, immediately popping bubble gum into his mouth.

As they discussed, Rudo, a petite ebony skinned cute girl with dimples, large eyes, a hair pin and lip balm showed up and greeted Tadiwa. She ignored Takura and paid him no attention. Rudo went on to say, “I saw the link you posted, I didn’t have bundles so I couldn’t go over it, but I will check it out once I juice my phone.”

“Nah, it’s no problem, by the way what time is the art club meeting?” he asked, with a smug on his face.

“Well, hmm, just after break time. Are you finally going to join? If a junior as talented as you joins then we might even break the Allied arts competition record and even get colours for art. Please tell me you are joining.” she said, with a wide smile as she flickered her eyes in a way that looked sensational.

“Well, with the current standard of art in this school, I might as well come in as their saviour… right, I will show up. I sent my links to the head of the Art department, the captain of the art club and I have announced my existence to them.”

“Man you really don’t know your place as a junior. You are busy sending links to teachers and seniors as if they are you close buddies. Be careful that you won’t end up being kicked out of the art club after you join. The hierarchy won’t like having a new cocky t**t who shows off. Remember that it’s not just art but there are politics involved as well.” said Takura, who seemed worried that his friend might be over stepping his boundaries. Rudo looked at Takura as if he had said something that was taboo and glared at him. Takura knew that Rudo’s affections lied in Tadiwa, and that his presence was the ultimate c**k block for her romantic ambitions. Art was a creative subject at school and the art club was among the club activities categorized as cultural activities. Other high schools, which had phenomenal artists, had managed to make a name for themselves. Sports and social events had taken the centre stage in high school, with some club activities being obscured from the mainstream. Though Tadiwa was acting like a cocky brat, he had thought things through and wanted the school he was currently attending to be the best in terms of art. He remembered the day when his mother was invited to attend an art exhibition at Chisipite high school. He was still in primary school and was curious to see the level of art found in high school. When he did accept to accompany his mother, the all-girls school didn’t fail to impress him. The use of multimedia was psychedelic: the portraits, still life paintings, landscapes, collage, and the presentation were all appealing. The skill level disparity between the 1st forms up to the 6th forms was progressive. The first forms were truly talented. Tadiwa believed that if he were to meet any of the girls who had done those illustrations at that time, he would have instantly fallen in love with them. Regardless of his infatuation, not much was known about this exhibition to the outside world and this was a problem for Tadiwa. High school art exhibitions were not always open to the general public and considering they lived in Zimbabwe, everyday people wouldn’t devote their busy time to see art. The boy pondered for a while about which quality art and marketing techniques would bring forth hordes of onlookers. Even if it was just a school event, that would have a fleeting appeal, the boy still wanted to make an outstanding impression. With the information age and entities such devianart, pininterest and Tumblr, all Tadiwa had to do was create hype and manage to get the same number of people who attended sports events to come for an art exhibition. This was obviously absurd, but as a mad man driven by his obsession, he would surely cook up a storm and make it rain at his school.