Well, twist my proud trumpet into a tuba.

After celebrating my overnight success, David and I joked that the woman might return the paintings as flawed (I paint on the damaged/rejected canvases from the shop*) or "the wrong color" for her decor. David went so far as to suggest that we tell her, in such an event, to repaint the house to match her new paintings.

How intuitive are we? Next morning, she calls, asking if she can exchange all four paintings. Eegads. There was a distinctive hiss as my spine deflated, and then I had to figure out what would be fair to all of us. Oy, the dismay I felt at such a short moment in glory.

I was reminded of the Tao Te Ching:

"Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear.

What does it mean that success is a dangerous as failure?
Whether you go up the ladder or down it,
your position is shaky.
When you stand with your two feet on the ground,
you will always keep your balance."

I have been saved by a near imbalance...

Whether the colors worked for her or not, I am reminded that this woman was touched on a different level by my paintings, and for a moment, my voice was welcomed into someone's (a stranger's) home as beautiful.


* in preparation for my defense against the "flawed" claim, I came up with the following shameless self-promotion: Yes, I used damaged goods for my paintings. This is part of my trademark, rather like the distinctive flaws that identify a diamond. This is one of the ways that I create my work so that giclee's and reproductions will be clearly less than the original... Take It Or Leave It (TIOLI).