Isabelle
by The OK Col lective
Daddy didn’t like the idea very much. H e s a i d , “ T h e r e i s n o mo n e y in making paintings!”
I s abelle woke up on a fine, s u nny morning and said a l oud to herself, “I am
M u m m y d i d n ’t l i k e t h e i d e a
g o ing to be an artist!” She
either.
r u shed dow n stairs to tell
“ Wh e n w i l l y o u h a v e t i m e t o
h e r mummy and daddy.
l o o k a f t e r y o u r c h i l d r e n ?”
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Then she came up with a brilliant idea. She would Google it! I s abelle thought hard.
On the Internet, Isabelle
S h e really wanted to be an
found wondrous, beautiful
a r tist. She wondered how?
and dramatic images that filled her head like dreams.
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I s abelle decided to start i mmediately. She nipped i n side the garage and d r agged all of the old paint p o ts into her room. S h e crept into the study and r u stled up some large sheets o f paper on which to paint h e r masterpieces. Starting n e rvously s he dipped the t i ps of her paws into the p a int, feeling the viscous l i quid between them. 5
It was cold but it warmed between her palms. She started to enjoy the feeling, as it became claggy against her fur. 6
I s abelle stroked the paper,
She yanked her pretty pink
s l owly working up frantic
dresses from off their
a n d expressive gestures
h a n g e r s a n d u s e d t h em t o
w i th her hands and feet.
hang
S h e was enraptured with
that sopped with paint all
a r ranging colours and
o ve r t h e f l o o r .
her
drying
s h apes within the space of t h e page. She whooped with j o y and whi stled merry t u nes as she caressed the p a per, filling the blank void.
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artworks
A s s h e l o o k e d u p , I s a b el l e noticed that the paint dribbling down the wall looked like the water condensation on the window p a n e s i n w i n t e r . S h e e nj o y e d the way it ran straight down S t anding back to survey the s c ene, Isabelle quickly
the wall, bubbling over the dents in the wallpaper.
r e alised that her parents w ould not be too impressed w i th her, so she started to c l ean the floor. 9
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I s abelle took the cloth
Isabelle picked up the
s h e was cleaning with and
paintbrush again, but now
s meared some of the paint.
started to trace lines into
A g ain, it made a very
the wallpaper, scratching
b e autiful mark.
away parts and leaving others, with little consideration for the whole effect. She smiled slyly.
S h e noticed the difference b e tween the chunky lines t h at dribbled and the w i der, smeared softness of t h e lines that she had made. 11
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Li ke all fall ing stars and m eteors, Isabelle’s i m aginings had to end and h e rs finished as she caught t h e edge of the chair. The b u ndle of energy that now w as Isabelle, spun and s w ung herself into the a r mchair that stood stoic a n d stationary in the corner o f the room, not the least b i t rocked by the rocket that h a d just propelled into it. 13
Isabelle started to laugh! Giggling wildly, she relaxed into the comfort of the soft seat and stared blissfully at the ceiling. 14
U pon hearing all the noise,
After surveying the scene,
I s abelle’s parents came
Daddy said, “Right! Time
u p stairs to investigate. They
f o r b e d , y o u ’ l l c l e a n t h is
d i dn’t look happy, and they d e finitely did not sound h a ppy. They only used her
mess up and we will talk about this artist business in the morning”
f u ll name when she was in t r ouble.
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T h e next morning, Isabelle t r eaded gingerly down the s t airs. Daddy lowered his p a per and asked, “Well?” l o oking at her for an a n swer. Isabelle stood s i l ently for a moment and t h en stated, “ A ctually, I want to be a P r incess! They get e v erything they want and t h ey have lots of maids to l o ok after the children!” 17
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