water towers
walking
to the Farmer's Market two Sundays ago
I walked across West 78th Street
it is in my opinion
one of the prettiest streets
on the UWS
see
that water tower?
see
that sky?
its green
because of the 'film' and 'lens' combo of the Hipstamatic app
I was using
but
waaaay
back
when
I attended the High School of Art and Design
I had a teacher
who assigned us the task of painting a cityscape
we could paint from memory
or
we could look out the window and paint what we saw
I opted for memory
I gesso'd/primed
the canvas
with a color green
not unlike the color of the sky
in this photo
and
then
painted in
the stark greys
of the urban landscape
the high rises
the office towers
but
in my mind
in the world of my painting
there was a rainy feel
to me the sky needed to be green
my teacher
stopped at my desk to see how my painting was progressing
when, he asked, did you ever see a green sky?
I tried to explain
about
how the sky looks to me
when
the color of light
takes on
that just rained look
he said
there's no such thing as a green sky
repaint it
I refused
he told me
he would be speaking to the dean
he did
and
the dean called my mother
when my dad came home that evening
she told him
he was going in to speak to the dean
she had gone to school every year up to that point
but she wasn't going again
she expected him to handle it
yes
I was a troublesome student
I am sure you are all surprised
not
anyway
dad met with the dean
they agreed
while there are not green skies
the teacher was wrong
to impose his views on a student
after all
aren't we supposed to be artists
learning
expressing
our visions?
I was also told
that I wasn't to talk back
I am not sure how long that lasted
but
I can tell you
neither of my parents
were ever called into school after that
I am still able to see the color of light differently
now you can see it too
