Art with a Story Iii
By John Nieman
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About this ebook
John Nieman
John Nieman, an accomplished artist and writer, has exhibited his paintings throughout the United States and in Europe. His first book of art and poetry, Art of Lists was published in 2007. He has published two novels, The Wrong Number One and Blue Morpho. In addition, he recently published a childen's book called The Amazing Rabbitini. Mr. Nieman lives in Dobbs Ferry, New York, and is the father of five children.
Read more from John Nieman
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Art with a Story Iii - John Nieman
Copyright © 2017 by John Nieman. 762065
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017915136
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Rev. date: 10/11/2017
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Table of Contents
Broken Hearts
The Supreme Boarder
Larry, the Cross-Dresser
UK Stars
Big Cups
The Big Apple Eats
The Not-So-Little Libation
Lefties
Hymn
The Market Gamble
The Painted Lady
Help Wanted
The ’52 Chevy
Soft Power
The Peeping Tom
The Good Doctors
Not a Peep
Buddy Movies
Let’s Tango
Pot by Any Other Name
Please Don’t Cry
The Boys of Summer
Makin’ Whoopie
The World on a String
Late Bloomers
Letting the Cat Out of the Bag
The Not-So-Holy Girlfriends
The Umbrellas of Ferrara
Keeping the Faith
Into the Woods
Pickup Lines
The Day after Christmas
Come Fly with Me
Happy Birthday, Dear Ralphie
Carrots VS Sticks
Curveballs
I Walk the Line
The Same Boat
Icing on the Cake
Burning Love
The Longest Day
Very Stylish Home Runs
Juniors
Love Songs
Sammy Swings Again
Welcome to NYC
Leaps and Bounds
Four-Legged Friends
Lines
Boxed Out
The Silver Lining
The Sand Stalkers
It’s About Time for Freedom
All or Nothing
Three-Way
Lights, Cameras, Cowboys
All in One Basket
Stroke, Stroke, Quack, Quack
The Top-Heavy Showgirl
Up on the Roof
The Last Days of Chuckles
Women Who Changed the World
The City that Never Sleeps
Gooey Butter Goodbye
For my kids, who encouraged me to get back on my feet and create again
Preface
I love to paint. I love to write. Most of all, I love to combine the two in a way that is engaging, surprising, and sometimes emotional.
First, let me answer the obvious chicken-or-egg quandary: which comes first, the art or the words? For me, the answer is always the artwork. In some cases, the paintings were actually done years before the short stories. You will notice that my art often utilizes words. Often, it’s a list that amplifies the subject matter. Sometimes, it’s a bottom line that editorializes the main image. In other cases, I dispense with words, but I always try to create a sense of contradiction in the painting that can tickle the viewer.
As for the stories that accompany the art, it’s a less-than-linear payoff. Sometimes the flash fiction is funny or emotional or provocative. I am never trying to literally pay off the picture. The stories may draw upon the subject matter or simply tell a tale that refers to the image in one brief scene. It’s not a scientific equation. I usually just look at the painting and squint until a story comes to mind.
I hope you enjoy the combination.
1.%20Broken%20Hearts.jpgBroken Hearts
Watercolor, 20x16, 2015
Broken Hearts
Elaine Bennett felt unlucky in love. Of course, that’s the familiar plight of many seventeen-year-olds. It’s too early for a long-range commitment, but the heart flutters are definitely there. It feels so real. It feels so thrilling. It feels so special. And yet at this age, it is often illusory.
Her first fling at fourteen was with a certain Robert McDuffy. She still reflects fondly on the days when she and Robert would hold hands walking home from high school. In fact, it was her first real romantic kiss when they would sneak behind the garage and embrace. However, it ended abruptly when Elaine realized that Robert also had another girlfriend who also enjoyed lingering kisses.
Fifteen was a big year for the young woman. She had a whirlwind relationship with Alex Anderson, the heartthrob of every girl in that sophomore year. Given her feelings for the young man (and vice versa), Elaine willingly lost her virginity that year. Wow, what fun is that—and so grown-up too! Unfortunately, it would only last three months. Alex’s father was promoted to a job in California, and the entire Anderson family moved one thousand miles west shortly after Christmas. Elaine cried for weeks.
Jack Rogers was next. He was the biggest jock in school and captain of the football team. Despite his studly looks, his daily practices in the fall and his preoccupation with televised sports events interfered with their romance. Also, he was a popular party boy. Despite Elaine’s best efforts, it was difficult to keep him from straying with eager cheerleaders.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennett always encouraged their beautiful daughter that the right prince would come along one day, probably when she was in college or beyond. Meanwhile, they applauded the studies and the achievements that Elaine attained in high school. It will pay off,
her dad advised her. Chances are, you will get in a top-notch college and be an American success story.
For the next several months in her senior year, she tried her best to heed her father’s advice and build her credentials for the future. She was elected to the student council and the Volunteers of America. She even joined the Junior Achievement organization.
That’s where she met Billy Grayson. Unlike the studs and jocks that had previously attracted her, Billy was such a decent, average guy. He had a part-time job in his dad’s construction firm and never complained about the work. Most importantly, he was always nice to Elaine. Their moments together were fun and fulfilling, but Elaine intuitively knew it was probably not forever.
What do you plan to do after high school?
she once asked him.
I want to go to Rankin Trade School and learn carpentry. I’m pretty good with lumber, saws, hammers, measures, and vices. When you get out, it pays pretty well, and there’s always work. What about you?
Elaine stalled for a few minutes but then answered honestly, I figure I’ll go to college somewhere.
Hope it’s close,
Billy retorted. We’re good together.
That night, when Elaine opened her mail, she learned that she was accepted at Brown University—one of the highest-rated colleges in America. It was cause for celebration in the Bennett home. However, Elaine sat on the news for several days rather than announce it to Billy.
She instinctively knew it would end their relationship. It would be impossible to reconcile two drastically different paths eight hundred miles apart. Unlike her past breakups, this would be the first one instigated by her. After stewing about the subject one long night, she broke the news to the nicest guy she had met in years.
Billy was silent for several minutes. Then he haltingly spoke, I figured this was too good to last forever. But I’ll tell you this—it really does break my heart, because we really are good together.
A tear slowly rolled down Elaine’s cheek. I know. I know exactly how you feel.
She truly did. Ultimately, the two of them just hugged.
You are Never Too Old
24x14, watercolor, 2016
The Supreme Boarder
Dwight Billings was something of a celebrity in Malibu, California. Even at the ripe age of eighty-one, he was able to win the senior skateboarding race down the twisty, curvy Mulholland Highway, which he had dubbed the Snake decades ago. The moniker stuck. Consequently, he was often featured in the Malibu Times for his contribution to the sport and for adding mystique to a wealthy community near Los Angeles.
He didn’t start out a skateboarder. In his younger days, he loved the water and would ply the Pacific Ocean every weekend. Surfing was his passion at the time. However, when he tore his rotator cuff two years in a row, he could no longer dog-paddle his way out hundreds of yards to catch the wave. No, he needed a sport that didn’t tax his shoulder muscles but could still give him the exhilaration of boarding.
Fortunately, a new thing called skateboarding had begun to gain some limited popularity in the late 1960s and 1970s. It was mostly embraced by teenage daredevils who enjoyed speed and even hills. At the time, the wheels were made of metal rollers. The only way to maneuver was the lean to the hard right or left, and as Dwight had learned the hard way, spills on asphalt required lots of bandages.
The polycarbonate wheels of the 1980s made life easier. These wheels were more like those found on high-end roller skates. The turns could be sharper. The control could be more enhanced. The speeds could be safer. All this appealed to Dwight Billings, who, in his late forties, adopted the sport as his own and could often be found racing down the roads of Malibu, frequently passing boarders who were half his age.
By the late nineties, the popularity of the sport grew, and races were introduced in many communities. Denver had a wonderful two-mile contest down a paved mountain road. In the New York Adirondacks, a 1.5-mile race took place every autumn.
Inspired, Dwight approached the Malibu City Council and pitched the idea with a twist. He suggested age categories—teenagers, twentysomethings, participants under forty, and a senior competition for boarders over the age of sixty. Understanding the affluent demographics of the Malibu, Mr. Billings had one other suggestion: community contributions for each boarder, which would then be funneled into a worthy cause.
In 2001, the races raised $15,000 for the Salvation Army. Each category had at least ten participants, with the exception of the senior category, which attracted only four boarders. Not surprisingly, Dwight easily won. The same result happened the next fourteen years, with contributions going to St. Jude’s Hospital, the boys and girls clubs, and at least a dozen other charities.
Unfortunately, Dwight lost the last two years. A seventy-six-year-old won in 2015. Last year, a sixty-four-year-old took the senior prize. But this year, the eighty-one-year-old veteran regained the throne. According to the Malibu Times, since he inaugurated the event, the Malibu community has raised almost a quarter of a million dollars for good causes.
Will you enter again next year?
the local reporter asked Dwight Billings. Of course,
the aged boarder answered. "The charities can use