Sunday, March 27, 2011

The Nature of Magic Blogfest



This is my entry for the Nature of Magic Blogfest hosted by Tessa Conte and Laura Diamond. A bit late but I made it!  Enjoy and try to find some magic in your day :)


Canvas


The brush gently moved over the worn canvas bringing back the vibrancy of the colors. The long hours of restoration extending the life of the vision before him. In a way she had been captured too. Ethan sat back and stretched, he’d been sitting for hours at the easel. The beautiful woman rendered before him was a familiar face.

One he had thought he’d forgotten. “How cruel can our memories be? To block something for so long then let it all rush back in a moment.”

Lightly his fingers traced over the long hair of the woman in the painting. She was so passionate, he could still feel the press of her lips on his as he closed his eyes. Those sweet kisses soon turned to curses.

He was to blame, of that there was no doubt. She thought he had eyes only for her and really he’d had eyes for Selena, her sister, and a few other ladies of the square.

For being so giving with others she had him cursed. Something he laughed at until the next sunrise.

A glance at the clock made him sigh. He covered the canvas to protect it during the day. He could feel the dawn coming, Ethan wondered if this is what vampires felt as the sun began to break the edge of the sky. 

He walked out onto the balcony and watched the sky begin to turn from darkness into brilliant light. The world waking. A familiar tingle began as the first rays touched land. Slowly he began to fade, the brighter the sun became the less of him there was to see.

When the last of night had been sent on its way Ethan had gone back to his canvas. His physical body was taken not to be returned until sunset. During the day he hung above the mantel. A modern looking man in a Renaissance decorated room. The brass plate on the frame says Ethan Osborne 1437.

To live forever, days trapped in a canvas world. Night brings freedom to walk the earth. That is his curse or is it just a bit of magic.  




Rose Wade and I have been writing together for a few years now. She's my Sister-in-heart :) This is part of a novel we are working on now. If you would like to read another part, and meet Mia, Ethan's new assistant,  head on over to her blog Other Ways of Writing.  

Magic: The Complete Course (Book & DVD)Magic Tree House Boxed Set, Books 1-4: Dinosaurs Before Dark, The Knight at Dawn, Mummies in the Morning, and Pirates Past Noon Practical Magic / The Witches of Eastwick (Comedy Double Feature) [Blu-ray]


20 comments:

  1. liked this - a good take on the picture themes

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  2. Ok, two things: (I started this a second ago and had to go back so forgive me if I double post) but I LOVE this! I love him fading as dawn rises and I love the fact that he's trapped in the painting! That's beautiful!
    Number two: I went to your home page first and I would love to know who the musician is...that is some good taste in music my friend! :)

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  3. @Alberta :) Thank you! I've been painting last couple of days maybe that's why Ethan has been 'talking' to me LOL

    @Autumn Thank you so much :) The musician is Jim Byrnes. Isn't he fantastic :) That song is One Life from his album My Walking Stick. I love his music :)

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  4. Wow... that's an excellent short you're written there. Is it part of a larger story? It should be! Although it is perfect like this, too.

    And I love your nature of magic! Trapped for centuries, only about in the night, and then always alone, surrounded by memories... *shudder*

    You paint a wonderfully compelling picture, here.

    Tessa.xx

    ps. Do check by mine or Laura's blog on March 30th for the finalists!

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  5. :) Thank you Tessa! My writing partner and sister in heart and I have been working out this idea as a novel. This was sort of a character study to get into Ethan's head a bit :)

    Had a blast writing it for the blogfest can't wait to see all the finalist :)

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  6. Love the idea of a magic painting--nice! Thanks for participating!

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  7. Great job! I love the idea of being cursed into a painting. I would totally read this if it were a longer work. *hopes*

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  8. Wow! It's always exciting to see positive interest in a story idea. Elise and I have been working on putting this story into novel-length. We wrote a handful of chapters before deciding on changing a few things.

    Great job on the re-write so far, Sis! I guess I should be working on the next part, huh? :)

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  9. :) Thank you all for the comments :) I love this story idea and can see scenes unfolding for the book.

    @Rose.... Yes Sis *poke poke* get busy :) We need to meet his new assistant :D This is going to be so much fun to write!

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  10. You are a FINALIST!! Votes are open now, results should be in April 3rd...

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  11. OMG!!!!! Thank you Tessa :) And Laura too! I'm so excited! :)

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  12. What a creepy punishment! Do people ever wonder where the paintings come from? And to make it impossible for a painter to work in daylight is a special kind of torture, for sure.

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  13. Oh, I like this idea a lot! Very creepy! Poor fellow! And PS, I love the theme of your blog. :)

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  14. Poor Ethan. What an awful punishment for a roving, umm, eye. I bet he could get in to all sorts of trouble at night! Congratulations on being a finalist.

    ~ that rebel, Olivia

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  15. i didn't see this until today. great entry. congrats on being in the top 5. (i'm a homeschooling mom as well.)

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  16. Beautiful selection! So haunting and lovely. Congrats on being a finalist!

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  17. Wow. Women can be really cruel.
    Good luck with the contest.

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  18. I enjoyed this. Very moving and poignant. This sounds like something I'd be interested in reading more of to find out what happens.

    Congratulations on finaling! :-)

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  19. You WON!!!!! Please let me know your email so we can sort out the prizes! (tessaconte(at)gmail(dot)com)

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