The Painter

​A family hired a portrait artist to paint them.

The artist was well known for his compositional skill, so the family was excited in expecting a well-crafted portrait to showcase their love and togetherness.

When the family arrived at the artist’s studio, however, what he saw was nothing but discord.

The three little children could not keep still and at points decided to run off and play with the brushes and paints.

The older child made it very clear despite their silence, that they had approximately 25 better things they could be doing at this moment.

The parents showed obvious embarrassment in their children, however more subtly that could only be picked up by the most astute of observers, there was a palpable feeling that the love for each other was cooling.

After a time, everyone eventually came together and the artists started working.

After three sessions over two weeks, the portrait was finally finished.

Showing their handiwork, the little children marveled at the brilliant colors of the background and clothing, the older child gave a quick nod of acknowledgment, but the real reaction was that of the parents:

...expecting a lovely picture, they were horrified to see that the artist painted the chaotic scene that they first saw two weeks ago.