GRANDPA’S ASSIGNMENT PACKET for London is heavier than any of the others. I hadn’t really noticed how much it weighed when it had been at the bottom of my carry-on the entire trip. But now, on the plane to London, I feel as though it’s as good a time as any to finally open it: my last assignment from Grandpa. A slim leather-bound notebook falls out of the envelope, along with a letter.
CONGRATULATIONS. YOU ARE OFFICIALLY A GALLERY-EXHIBITED PROFESSIONAL ARTIST. OF COURSE, PROPER DECORUM USUALLY INVOLVES INFORMING THE ARTIST BEFORE THE WORK IS HUNG, BUT I FELT IN THIS CASE A SURPRISE MIGHT BE WORTHY OF AN EXCEPTION.
PERHAPS I SHOULD ALSO LET YOU KNOW THAT OUR WORK HAS ALREADY BEEN PURCHASED BY A COLLECTOR WITH A SERIOUS EYE, FOR A CONSIDERABLE SUM. I’VE TAKEN THE LIBERTY OF DEPOSITING YOUR PERCENTAGE INTO YOUR COLLEGE SAVINGS ACCOUNT, AND THEN TAKEN THE LIBERTY OF DEPOSITING MY PERCENTAGE INTO YOUR COLLEGE SAVINGS ACCOUNT. AFTER ALL, AS ANYONE WHO SAW THE EXHIBITION WOULD ATTEST, IT IS TRULY YOUR UNIQUE STYLE THAT MAKES THE PIECE.
AS FOR YOUR FINAL ASSIGNMENT: SEE LONDON. ENJOY THE CITY. TAKE THE ENCLOSED NOTEBOOK AND FILL IT AS YOU SEE FIT. I RECOMMEND THE WALLACE GALLERY AND THE TATE MODERN. SKETCH EVERYTHING YOU SEE AND EVERYTHING YOU DREAM. YOU ARE AN ARIST, MY DARLING, AND THE WORLD DESERVES TO SEE HOW YOU SEE THE WORLD.
BECOMING AN ARTIST IS A RECKLESS ACT OF INSANITY. BUT, IF I MAY QUOTE A PLAY THAT I THINK MIGHT BE A FAVORITE OF YOURS, “THOUGH THIS BE MADNESS, / YET THERE IS METHOD IN’T.”
LEARN THE METHODS, AND THEN ENJOY THE MADNESS.
I LOVE YOU.
—RP