Fairies, Beyonce, and chocolate cake
As I sip my customary post-gig tea I’m feeling warm inside because tonight it seemed like everyone I drew was in love—with each other or with life itself. I felt like asking people about their creative outlets today and discovered that this was a group of wonderful weirdos with many talents and interests. I spotted many of them a mile away due to their quirky outfits, including an epic bolo tie with two kissing fairies and a pair of pointy ears that I learned were worn at all times. The bride wore a green dress with fluttering fabric flowers and leaves.
I drew couples that could not stop smiling at each other, a couple that decided to retire on the same day, young couples who cited communication as the key to a good relationship which is typically something that older couples say. I drew artists and musicians, a jewelry maker, a painter, an opera singer, a songwriter, a drummer, and several gamers for good balance. I drew a girl who crochets her own outfits before going to raves and a guy who said that he would claw his eyes out if he had to work a desk job. I drew a couple who was up two hours past their bedtime and a girl who gets lost in books letting her imagination transport her into faraway lands.
If you asked me if Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love” was a song that would get me dancing I would say probably not, but when it played tonight it took all of my strength not to get up from the table and move my body. That surge of energy came through as it often does during wedding dance parties, and I must remind myself that I am working here, not a guest who can drink free wine all night and get weird on the dance floor. Also on the playlist were Shania Twain, the Spice Girls, Doja Cat, and surprisingly Phoebe Bridgers who then made me want to get in my car and weep with the music blasting.
During dinner I sat with the DJ and photographer in the back room talking about internet scams and hot tubs and it seemed we were all working a little too much. The DJ did 85 parties in 2022. My mind cannot comprehend that. It’s not even his only job. He’s also a real estate agent. I hope he buys his own hot tub one day with all that DJ money.
The first couple I drew after dinner was the one that retired on the same day, Anne and Dave. They bought a place on one of those beautiful islands near Seattle. The man was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and told me they were getting used to the island life. I genuinely loved this for them. They were shiny humans with a calming energy who did a great job of actually looking at me while I drew them. Later in the night the woman came to me and gave me one of the kindest compliments I could receive, which was that the true value of my work is in the connection that I offer rather than the portrait itself. Sometimes someone just gets it. Why else would I start drawing portraits when I was initially so bad at it? I just wanted to sit with people and make them smile, stir up a bit of fun.
Now I have the delight of chocolate cake as a nightcap. A man who worked at the venue packed me a dessert box as I was preparing to leave. He asked if I wanted cake and I replied “is it chocolate?” and he said yes and that’s how I know that the universe is crushing on me right now.