Work Text:
Hi Rara <3
Idk where to start…maybe yeahhh I'll start from the start lol
Sooo one day we, yes we were arguing in the creative talks section of the WC server, and a few others were involved too. Of course it wasn't hostile…it was a typical friendly disagreement...something about Neal, and that was the first time I had ever spoken to you.
A few minutes later, August told me that YOU would be the recipient of whatever gift I'll have to make…and I was like "Rara? the one we were just talking to?!!?!" So yeahh that happened…that argument was some sort of sign I guess...I laughed so hard when August told me that.
Also, I hope my painting does justice to whatever your expectations were about it. And I also hope that this painting brings us closer and we can talk more often after this <3
Love
374
About this painting
This is a post-canon painting…and it takes place after Neal returns from Paris to New York. It’s a sequel to my Neal in Paris painting named - The Black Rose.
It’s just Neal on a rainy day, relaxing and painting. He is making a Neal Caffrey original! As he paints and explores different styles, he also explores himself. He confronts something he has been avoiding for a while since he arrived in New York. He has almost everything he wants - freedom, New York, friends. Everything. Yet he seems to imprison himself in a mental prison.
Neal is being open to himself as he paints the version of him he shows the world. Clad in a polished suit, we have a cheerful, confident Neal Caffrey, hiding behind a comedy mask. The man in the painting is the Neal who suppresses the true Neal, who is unpolished, scarred and imperfect. Neal traps the true man he is, under the suit & mask.
So we have a shirtless, open, scarred, honest Neal versus a Neal hiding under the polished suit and mask and smiles, the Neal he pretends to be in front of everyone else. We have a trapped Neal longing for true freedom versus the Neal who trapped him.
(in case anyone is wondering where the other Neal is, he is that creepy dude in the painting Neal is making lol)
We've got other details like - Neal has a bottle of the classic Bordeaux to celebrate this new beginning, where he is confronting himself through the painting.
Also in my painting, Neal is painting the cuffs on the hands of the Neal in his painting. (this is some brain frying sentence lol)
We're supposed to assume that, after this painting he would suppress his true self less.
We've got my name and Neal's initials on his window. There's the Chrysler building shining through the rain. I have a lore that I went to Neal's place at June's, met him, gifted him that sword jewelry he is wearing, and wrote my name on the window.
Also, I sometimes have a '374' corner in my paintings. It's a place where you have stuff which somehow represents the number 374. For example in my previous painting (some of the people from the WC discord server may know this) I had 3 red rose buds, 7 total flowers, and 4 blooming roses. THIS PAINTING HAS A SIMILAR EASTER EGG, SEE IF Y'ALL CAN FIGURE IT OUT hehe.
Stuff abt my process + Vote of Thanks
My prompt was Neal relaxing and painting. So I initially thought of a few ideas, like Neal painting in the beach, or stuff like that. But I couldn’t connect with any of those ideas emotionally. I also wanted a particular angle where both Neal’s face and the painting would be visible, hence i made him sit in a particular angle, and so i had his head turned further away from the angle he is sitting in to face the painting to achieve what i wanted.
I tried out apps like Pose It to help me because anatomy isn’t my strong suit. It didn’t help lol. Also because this was supposed to be kept secretive, i was confused, because while i was drawing Neal previously, i constantly posted them in our WC server for opinions. And here I need to thank a few people - @samhuesketch, Babybuckydoll, and of course August. I sent them my art frequently and asked them to point out stuff they felt odd/awkward and stuff. I tortured Sam and Bucky sooooo much. (sam and bucky lol, what a coincidence), especially Sam, i sent them my artwork sooooo many times every single day, after every single change, and asked them if it was alright. They were very patient with me, they calmly explained how to fix the mess i was making, and how to avoid them in the future and stuff. A huge thanks to August for organising this exchange. So yeahhh thank you guyssss!
They all got to see all the ugly phases of my artwork.
Plus, I was often painting this even in my class, during breaks, or whenever my professors were late, etc. So at this point, a good chunk of people at my university know about Neal and White Collar. I also got a couple of them to watch it. It also means they saw me working on the same shirtless Neal for a couple of months lol.
PLEASE HELP ME NAME THIS PAINTING
I’ll post this painting, with its title and close ups next month.
The Bingo Card Part!
I added this the bingo card thing too because it has been ig two years since i got the two bingo cards. I made the cards i got pretty to suit my aesthetics, so i wanna finish that too. I wanted a sense of accomplishment lol. Also good for us, this is a Summer Bingo card.
