A teacher should not have favorites. But that was not my experience in my years at the art school. Our instructor Ms. Simpson had very soft corner for me and she made no attempt to conceal it. Sometimes it was a pat on my shoulder, sometimes a small gift. She would spend more time in front of my canvas giving me helpful tips and pointers.

The others in my class were not stupid and soon I became the butt of everyone’s jokes. Some of the other guys even hinted that Ms. Simpson had designs on me. She was a young window, probably in her late thirties. I was in my early twenties. It was not as if I was a very promising student. Without any overdose of modesty, the best I could say about myself was mediocre. So it remained a joke and raised many eyebrows about what Ms. Simpson saw in me apart from looks.

I was considered quite good-looking and was in no way unpopular among the chicks. But this open display of attention by Ms. Simpson turned the girls who came in my way off. I was afraid that I would be branded as Ms. Simpson’s property.

Then, one day Ms. Simpson invited me over to her house for dinner. When I told my friends about this, there were lots of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ and hoots and catcalls. They were all sure that something would happen that night.

I seriously debated whether to go or not. At last I decided to honor the invitation.

At her place, Ms. Simpson turned out to be a very good hostess and an excellent cook. There was not even the slightest hint of any other intention. But after dinner, she came and sat next to me and asked me if I felt uncomfortable about the attention she was bestowing me. As I squirmed uncomfortably in my chair, she took out a photograph of a young man who looked so much like me that for a minute my mouth hung open. Only the color of the eyes was different.

She told me that the man in the picture was her younger brother whom she had lost in a car accident along with her husband. She went on to say that when I was around she felt as if she had got back her brother.

When I left her house soon after that, I had a strong argument to defend myself against the attacks of my friends.

But the next day, again Ms. Simpson lived up to her reputation. In front of the whole art school she announced the date of the annual painting competition. The theme was to be abstract art and along with that she also said that she expected a sure winner from our class and look pointedly at me amongst the coughs and sniggers of my classmates.

I sat down in despair on my couch. I had been trying to think of something original. I wanted to do a decent work for Ms. Simpson’s sake. But as I told you I was but a mediocre artist. My room was a mess with paint tubes and canvas scattered everywhere. I looked around for some source of inspiration.

Finally my eyes fell on some bits of broken glass lying on my table, the remains of a glass flower vase that I never bothered to clear away.

“Oh well” I thought, “something’s” better than nothing!”

I tried to stand up and found something sticking to my jeans. I reached behind and pealed off a sheet of canvas that had stuck to the seat of my jeans. I had sat down on a small tube of yellow paint and under my weight; the tube had spilled out its contents and makes a most bizarre design on the canvas.

On a hunch I kept small tubes of black, red, blue and green on the canvas and again sat down on them.

In the end, the effect was quite remarkable. Last of all I used my brush to give a few strokes here and there.

I was happy with the final effect.

I did not get the prize but my painting was the most talked bout painting at the competition. Eventually it was selected to be sent to a charity exhibition for which I had to give it a title.

Ms. Simpson was very happy that I had shown the promise that she had seen in me but she was taken aback by the title I chose.

I preferred to call it “The sitting Down.”

Art is not a joke; and artists are not jokers! In fact artists are strange people, there is something in them that makes them different from the rest of the people. Most artists are accepted as people with some kind of eccentricity or the other. And so you can expect a very strange group of people in any art school.

I studied in an art school for a couple of years. It was not because I was a budding artist just waiting to flash my brushes over canvas. It was more because of an interest, an undying interest in paintings and other arts. Of course I knew a lot of strange people there, but one of my most unforgettable encounters was with a couple, a young couple in love with each other and just waiting for the completion of their course to get married.

He was Andy, young and very talented and a promising young artist. She was Julie, a breath taking beauty, with classic, chiseled features and an equally attractive figure. The whole school knew about their affair but then problems started.

There was another chap in the school, a guy called Monday. He was black. Monday was in one word weird. He never spoke to anyone and even I didn’t think much of him. He may have been talented, but I never remember seeing any of his works. He usually kept to himself, sometimes even talking to himself. Rumor got around that he was using drugs. He had an unshaven and unclean look about him.

All of us kept aloof from him.

But Julie seemed to have formed a bond with Monday. I couldn’t see what in the world she saw in him. Andy didn’t seem to mind. But then things took a strange turn. Julie started seeing Monday regularly. In fact there were people who saw her leave Monday’s room at late hours.

The others and I started noticing that Andy and Julie did not seem to spend much time together. Human behavior is such that we tend to jeer at others about matters, which we cannot succeed in. So at every opportunity we would make spied remarks about Julie and Monday particularly when Andy was around.

Andy being human too, started getting jealous. But strangely enough instead of confronting Julie he picked on Monday. Once in the cafeteria in front of everyone he picked a fight with Monday. To his entire angry question Monday just stared back sullenly. A man who doesn’t talk back can be really irritating and before we could stop him Andy punched Monday on the face. Monday ended up with a broken nose and Andy ended up with a broken heart.

For the next moment, when Julie heard about this, she stormed into the cafeteria and literally sliced Andy to pieces with her sharp tongue. We never saw them speaking for the next two weeks. Monday came back to school with a plaster over his nose and Julie kept on seeing him and paying him long visits.

The art school was closing for the summer break, and in connection with this an exhibition was being organized to raise funds for physically challenged kids. All of us tried to bring out our best works. Andy’s work was of course selected. It was a beautiful oil on canvas of a wilted rose in a glass vase with most of its petals fallen. We knew what the rose stood for and all our sympathies were with Andy.

But the First prize went to somebody else. It was again an oil on canvas of a beautiful young woman dressed in black sitting in a dark corner, the only light being the weak flame of a small candle. The painting was unsigned. But since the woman in the painting had an uncanny resemblance to Julie we all guessed that the artist was none other than Monday.

Everybody felt uncomfortable. We couldn’t bring ourselves to face Julie or Monday.

As for Andy, he was shattered. It was the first time that he had lost the first prize.

Now artists might be strange people with all kinds of eccentricities but that doesn’t mean they lack character.

In front of everyone Andy made an apology to Monday and to Julie, which was followed by a public entreaty to Julie to have him back and this Julie did with a little bit of prodding from Monday.

After attending a college or institute for your design education and completing your online degree you will have the skills to get a rewarding job. Web design is a current hot area with lots of opportunity. Media arts, graphic design, photography, video production, advertising, and animation are all hot areas too. Digital and computer designers can get jobs designing video games. Universities have classes on campus and online via distance learning. Make sure the school you choose has the program you are interested in. Art School is for everyone interested in a creative job. Art schools are a good way to learn for a new career.