The artist stepped into the old warehouse. The steel door slammed shut behind him.
The room was completely dark and the only sound was the artist's breathing. The artist peered through the darkness.
He spoke one word, “Light.”
He moved the large switch on the wall near him upwards, and a brilliant light filled the room. Along the opposite wall of the warehouse stood a giant canvas, it was blank and the purest white ever known.
The artist smiled to himself, thinking of the possibilities for the blank canvas. This would be his greatest creation.
The artist then turned and left the warehouse.
***
The next day the artist reentered the warehouse. The light had remained on and the canvas remained pure white.
The artist picked up several cans that rested by the door. He had spent hours mixing the colors himself, making sure they were perfect. He placed them in front of the canvas. He then opened a can to reveal a beautiful crystalline blue. He took a thick brush and began to paint.
The artist painted lines and shapes across the lower half of the canvas. He moved the length of the canvas as he painted, placing the shapes and lines where he pleased.
He stood back to admire his work. The shapes and lines were wild across the long canvas, but yet there was an order to them.
The artist then stood a ladder on one end of the canvas. He opened a new can. He dipped his brush in the heavenly blue paint and swept it across the top half of the entire length of the canvas.
When he had finished he stood back to admire his work. His eyes swept from one side of the canvas to the other. He smiled to himself, turned, and left the warehouse.
***
The artist returned the next day to the warehouse.
He first admired his work from the day before. It was perfect.
The artist opened a few new cans of paint. A rich, earthy brown; a clean peaceful green; and several other cans of colors so bright and perfect that the artist almost couldn't believe he had created such colors.
The artist then took his brush and started painting brown and green around the shapes and lines of blue from the day before. He painted hills and valleys, mountains and caves.
A beautiful landscape formed and met with the lighter blue, forming earth with the sky.
The artist admired his work as he dipped into the cans of colors. He then proceeded to paint flowers and trees and plants one could have never imagined. They covered the land, creating beauty never seen before. The tallest trees reached high into the sky and the littlest flowers dotted the ground. Every plant had great detail to it, each was unique.
The artist spent great care on the tiniest details of the land. He wanted it to be perfect.
When the artist finished he stood back and viewed his days work. It had been a long day, but so worth it when he could look at what he created. Yet it was not done.
The artist smiled as the brightest flowers smiled back at him in their beauty. He then turned and left the warehouse.
***
The artist returned on the fourth day. The warehouse light still shone brightly over the canvas. The flowers and trees and earth were just as magnificent as the previous day.
The artist looked at his remaining cans of paint. He had an idea of something to add that he hadn’t planned on from the beginning. Something the painting didn’t necessarily need, but he wanted to give it to whoever would view his creation.
The artist picked a can of deep black and a few other cans that held wondrous colors that did not fit on the earth of his canvas.
The artist took his ladder and stood it near the canvas. He climbed to the very top and began painting a large black crescent above the sky. He filled the crescent with stars and planets and moons. He created beautiful galaxies and breathtaking nebulas. He knew they would love it, and be in constant awe of it.
The artist studied his addition once he had finished. It was a great addition to the creation. He loved it and knew that whoever viewed the painting would love it too. He had made it for them.
The artist smiled. He gazed at the heavens of his painting one last time before turning and leaving the warehouse.
***
The next day the artist came back to the warehouse. The light shone brightly and brought forth the colors and magnificence of his creation.
The artist dipped his brush into his paint and stood in front of the largest expanse of water on the giant canvas. He studied it momentarily and then let his brush land on the canvas.
The artist painted intricately designed creatures in the sea. He painted fish in the reefs and dolphins jumping into the air. He finished and was pleased.
The artist then took his ladder and studied the empty sky. It needed something.
He then took his brush and fashioned hundreds of creatures to fly through the sky. He painted birds in the air and landed in the treetops.
The artist climbed down from his ladder and admired his latest addition. It was good.
The artist smiled, turned, and left the warehouse.
***
The artist returned for his sixth day of work in the warehouse. He was most excited for this day.
The artist admired the fish and the birds that inhabited his creation, but decided there needed to be something more.
He took his brush and started creating creatures to inhabit the land. They lived in the mountains and valleys, in the trees and in the caves.
He was satisfied with every creature in his creation, yet he felt as if there should be something else.
The artist turned and walked across the warehouse, thinking of what he could create. He caught his reflection in a broken piece of glass lying on the floor.
The artist then nearly ran across the large room to the canvas. He picked up a brush and began painting. He painted his own image, slightly off center, on the canvas. He was proud of his work.
He stood back and admired it. But as he stood looking at his painting, he became displeased. Something was missing.
He scanned the painting from the earth to the heavens, from the fish to the birds. His eyes eventually came to rest on the man.
“Of course.” The artist said to himself.
The artist picked up his brush and set it to the canvas. But the artist soon realized he lacked the amount of paint he needed. He looked to the man; the paint was heavy and still wet where he was painted.
The artist took paint from the man and used it to create his counterpart. So from the man was painted the woman, and they would sustain each other. The painting was incomplete without either one of them.
Once the artist finished he stood back and admired his work. He was proud of the man, but the woman was breathtaking. The artist was confident that he had painted a suitable partner for the man.
The artist cleaned his brushed and stacked his paint on old shelves. He folded his drop clothes and put away his ladder.
The artist looked at the large canvas one last time, smiled, and left the warehouse.
***
The artist returned the next day, but he would not work.
When he entered the warehouse he sat on the cold concrete floor in front of his creation. He sat there all day, resting and admiring his work. It was perfection in the purest sense.
The artist thought of what he would do next, he had already finished his greatest creation.
An idea suddenly came to him. He would spend the rest of his days painting portraits. He would from then on lovingly paint men and women in essence of his creation, in essence of the man and woman he had first created.
The artist smiled, and continued to gaze at his creation.
