STILL LIFE
"You don't say? Action painter?"
"Always active."
"I refer of course to abstract e..'<pressionism."
"Of course. Sort of. On and off."
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"Haven't I seen some of your work around? Not bad as I
remember."
Fidelman thanked him, in full blush.
"Who are you here with?" Orazio Pinello asked.
"Annamaria Oliovino."
"Her?" said the sculptor. "But she's a fake."
"Is she?" Fidelman said with a sigh.
"Have you looked at her work?"
"With one eye. Her art is bad but I find her irresistible."
"Peccato." The sculptor shrugged and drifted away.
A minute later there was another fist fight, during which the
bright-eyed orange head conked Fidelman with a Chinese vase. He
went out cold and when he came to, Annamaria and Balducci were
undressing him in the illustrator's bedroom. Fidelman experienced an
almost overwhelming pleasure, then Balducci explained that the art
student had been chosen to pose in the nude for drawings both he
~
and the pittrice would do of him. He explained there had been a
discussion as to which of them did male nudes best and they had
s
decided to settle it in a short contest. Two easels had been wheeled
h
to the center of the studio; a half hour was allotted to the contestants,
a
and the guests would judge who had done the better job. Though he
o
at first objected because it was a cold night, Fidelman nevertheless
h
felt warmish from wine so he agreed to pose; besides he was proud
a
of his muscles and maybe if she sketched him nude it might arouse
:t
her interest for a tussle later. And if he wasn't painting he was at
\-
least being painted.
-'
So the pittrice and Giancarlo Balducci, in paint-smeared smocks,
d
worked for thirty minutes by the clock, the whole party silently look–
ing
on, with the exception of the orange-haired tart, who sat in the
k-
corner eating a prosciutto sandwich. Annamaria, her brow furrowed,
:d
lips
pursed, drew intensely with crayon; Balducci worked calmly in
colored chalk. The guests were absorbed, although after ten minutes
lr
the Hindu went home. A journalist locked himself in the painter's
bedroom with orange head and would not admit his wife who
