When I was 18 years old and still at school for the last year we ad a half-year-topic for our art-lessons: “Vivified area in grey.”
Picture: Table for buying color in different greys
Already this topic would deserve a price for comedy. This was what I thought then. And when I don’t see the sense of something I don’t do it, and that’s that! And can anybody tell me what I should ever do what would be work enough for a half year!? I didn’t feel like doing anything in the arts-lessons. So I talked here and there, pretended to help other pupils who weren’t as good painters and sometimes pretended to paint something.
After the half-year was over the submission date came nearer and nearer and I hadn’t painted a single stroke of the brush. The day before we ad to deliver our pictures I knew that I had to paint a picture or would get a “6”, what would mean that I couldn’t pass the 
school year. So I went into the cellar where my father has had a little workshop for his tools and made a frame from four pieces of battens. Then I took a piece of an old bed sheet and spanned it over the frame with some tacks. This was my canvas. Well, this satisfied 
me. But now the whole canvas had to be painted in grey. I found some white and some black color. Mixing black and white? Nope. This was too much effort. So I took a putty knife and slapped alternating black and white color onto the canvas. OK, grey area, check. Vivified? OK, a little bit blue into the left upper edge of the picture, check. Done!
The next day I crept to school: I was the incarnate bad conscience. I knew that what I was going to deliver was pure provocation and a real gall. But this is me: Pigheaded and a bit anarchistic. If I don’t see any sense in something I don’t do it or I do it this way, if there is no way to defy. Two days later I was called to the teacher’s room. O dear! I already saw myself being executed for this gall. But – no: The teacher was full of ardor about my picture and asked me if I would donate this gorgeous painting to the school as a decoration in the entrance-hall. "O, yes!" I stumbled happily about the fact that she didn’t scold me for my provocation. The next arts-lesson the teacher interpreted my painting for the whole class. I sat there and was very astonished about what clever thoughts and ideas I had when I painted this wonderful picture. She told something about „this wonderful rhythm“ and I don’t know what else. And I only thought: If she knew that I only wanted to paint an area grey without any effort and in the shortest time, she would have felt messed around. But she didn’t notice that the whole painting was a total provocation.
This was the day that I decided that studying arts wouldn’t be the right way for me. That’s not me, taking people on a ride. And already then I had the strong feeling that a lot of artists take people on a ride with their „works of art“. This wouldn’t be honest, so I decided not to become an artist.
But although in my opinion this "painting" was crap, I'm sorry that I don't own it any more. Maybe that it's still hanging on one of the walls in the entrance-hall of the school.
And this is what my paintings are usually like.... This one I painted when I was about 20 years old.
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"Grey" pictures: Public domain
Street life: Painted by Georgia; all rights reserved
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