Acrylic Sunflower

Pigments staining canvas, acrylic perfume lingering in the air, the scratching of bristles on cloth... Nyota couldn't help but feel like she was peace for reasons that she can't logically explain. Then again... most most great artist probably struggled with such questions as well. Nyota's dorm was not all that well equipped for her painting hobby but she managed to make it work. She had to move the coffee table off to the side to make room for her painting setup that included a stool, an easel, a canvas portrait resting on the easel, and a myriad of paints and brushes resting on top of a tall cardboard back that Nyota was using a a table for her tools. Nyota made sure to place a large canvas tarp on the floor to protect the carpet so that she didn't make any sort of messes that she would have to clean up later... Castiel was especially bitchy about her making messes. Nyota also went to length of wearing a painters apron to avoid having paint on her clothes again as this stuff took FOREVER to wash off.

Nyota already painted landscape of green rolling hills on a clear sunny day earlier so she was up for something a bit different. Right now... she felt like painting flowers. Roses? Poppies? Orchids? Sunflowers? Sunflowers... she like sunflowers so sunflowers it is. Nyota teethes on the butt end of her fan brush as she looks over her tubes of colors that she could choose from. As always... her liberal use of blue paint was causing her to start running out of the stuff. Mental note to pick up more Midnight and Prussian blue next time she stopped by an art store. With a subject in mind, Nyota stops gnawing on the end of the brush and sets down with the many other brushes she as set out. On plastic pallet, Nyota starts squeezing out globs of paints in all of the colors she was planning to use for this peice. At this rate... she was going to be out of blue again.

@James/Shadow

Nyota as was about to make fir first mark on the canvas when she heard a knock on the door. Nyota looked to the door quite puzzled, not expecting visitors aside from her roommates. If it had been Klef or Castiel they would have just entered the room on their own. Nyota murmured something about her dislike of interruptions when she was working on her paintings as she set the brush aside. Once she looked into the peephole, she was surprised to find James standing there with an offering of pizza! She personally wasn't all that hungry but she wasn't about to turn down free pizza now!

"Hahaha... pizza!? Are you just trying to get on my good side after making me carry you and your drunken ass from that party awhile back? Cause if so... I say its working. Come on in already dork, before the pizza gets cold." cheered Nyota as she hurried him inside the dorm.

As James was more or less pushed inside she realized that her makeshift studio was still set-up, taking up the space they normally used to watch movies together. Welp, she better ask what their plans where going to be. As much as she like her friends James, she was a bit bummed out that she have hold back on that artist itch she had been having all day.

"Anyway... hello to you to. Sorry for the... er... mess. If I had know I you where dropping by I would have had this all stored put away. I was... painting. I've told that that I sometimes paint right? I... don't remember if I ever did or not." Nyota takes moment to scratch her head, then shrugs as she continues on "Well whatever. How about I just enjoy some of this pizza with you."

With that, Nyota steals a slice of gooey cheesy goodness from the box. She pinches the pizza with her single hand so slice of pizza folds a bit to prevent the flat cheese pie from simply falling limp like paper. She then proposes a question to her friend she she is busy chewing on her bite of pizza.

"Mhmm! So James *ohm nonh nom* Whatcha think we should do while we are eating pizza together? I could open up my laptop and we can watch third Star Trek movie together. Search for Spock? Or you know... watch funny cat videos for an hour or something."

Nyota looked over her shoulder, at first thinking he meant blank canvas that she had yet to start painting on before she realized he meant the finished painting she left leaning by her bedside.

"Huh? Oh... that... you think so? I guess its alright. Personally I think my art is kinda lazy but whatever, I just enjoy the process." stated Nyota half-dismissively. She personally didn't think of herself as tht great of an artist even when people tell her otherwise. Not that she cared much what others thought... it was the act of painting that oddly struck a cord with her. Something about painting just... made her forget about the world and all of its ugliness as she loses herself in her creation. Wait did James ask her something?

"Wait what was that? Oh... when did I start painting? Thats... a good question..." pondered Nyota as she took another bite of pizza, reflecting on when it was she started painting and why it is she does it. Once she shallows, Nyota continues one with her answer to James.

"Errr... I guess it was on my time at Juvie Island. You know... the place they send problematic kids like me? Anyway, for some sort of therapy session they wanted me to trey painting as sort of... stress relief I guess. I thought the whole thing was dumb because I thought I couldn't make shit. They nagged me into painting... I smeared my first stroke of color... something about that action... I dunno how to describe it. I kinda just forgot my frustrations and before you know you I painted an image of the earth in all sorts of wild colors. I thought it was crap but everyone kept insisting that it looked great... that I had unique way of seeing the world. Anyway, I liked it enough they schedule more painting sessions for me as part of my rehabilitation since it helps calm me down. Its funny... I was never really interested in art until that moment. Dunno not sure if its just me finding some hidden potential or if harboring the soul of god suddenly unlocks my inner artist but... whatever. I like it."

Nyota grew quite, then shrugged as she continued eating her pizza.

"Yeah, you kinda interrupted the little session I had going on here but I can just paint. Unless you want to watch paint dry." stated Nyota as she chuckled near the end. Nyota meant her suggestion as joke and didn't really think that James was all that much interested in watching someone paint for several hours.

Nyota raised an eyebrow, surprised that he was actually going along with watching her paint. She meant it as joke but since James had no qualm with watching her paint she might as well resume. After all... she was in an arty mood right now so she might as well go with it.

"Shit... really? Well alright then, I guess you can watch me make a mess of things then. If you get bored don't blame me alright? Your the one going along with it."

After finishing her slice of pizza pie, Nyota then moves over to her easel and moves it a bit so that James can have an unobstructed view while she paints. Nyota looks to James, then back to her set of brushes all neatly set out. She selected a thicker, broader brush and liberally smears the entire canvas with a thin coat ultramarine and midnight blue. Every now and then she dipped her brush in water and reapplied the blues until all of the canvas looked to be a dark blue.

Nyota then paused, nibbling on the butt end of her brush as she considers what it she will do next as the allows the paint to dry for a bit. Start on the stem maybe? How many sunflowers should she have? Nyota seems completely aloof to anything going on around her, almost forgetting about James as she thinks out how her painting should come out.

"Tch... tch... hrmmm..." mummered Nyota as bite her lower lip, thinking of the possibilities. She places her thick paint brush aside and nabs an intermediate paintbrush... then sets at down as she frowns at her blue canvas.

"Shit... I did not think this through... James!? Can you go grab me my hairdryer in the bathroom? I need to dry this painting quickly. Could you hurry now?" called Nyota as she takes out a ragged piece of cloth dipped in water and tries to smear off certain sections of blue before they the paint dries completely onto the canvas.