IT IS FINISHED

It is with great relief that I report that the painting is finally complete, and I am finally leaving Rossland.

After many iterations and changes, the final painting looks like this:

It is currently stretched over a bent piece of plywood, which is why the image looks a bit fish-eye-lensey at the top. You will all happily note that I am ambiguously clad, and that a hand (holding a ski pole) is covering my naughty bits. I believe this painting falls partly into the creepy and off-putting nude category, and partly into the vain and self-obsessed commissioned work category, which at this stage I'm happy to take. In fact, right now I'm happy to take anything that means I can get out of Rossland and get back to climbing.

I'm being a little harsh on Rossland. The biggest problem is that I'm a bit crippled and I've been trying to avoid any real activity so as to give things time to heal. My finger is heaps better and I'm confident that I can ease it back into climbing. I've also hurt something in my ankle which is not getting better as desired and is quite displeasing, but hopefully a change of scenery (and leaving the hostel, where doing anything requires at least one flight of stairs) will sort it out. It doesn't help that there's construction work on the main street right outside the hostel, and the sounds of clanking and jackhammering accompany my every waking moment here.

Now I am left with the tricky problem of storing the painting. I'm not sure whether to hang it in my old house, leave it with Brad, take it with me, or try to get it put up at Powderhound. I feel like the painting is ready to go out into the world and do its work, so I'm hesitant to hide it away in storage. Ideally, I'd like to hand it at Powderhound, my old work. This would ensure that legions of customers could be creeped out by it and would ensure that my legacy of indifferent customer service could continue long after I have left the store. However, my boss (who has the misfortune of looking quite a bit like me) will probably object to my idea on the grounds that it runs contrary to his goal of running a profitable and reputable business. I can't seem to find him right now, but when I track him down I'll see if he's keen.

I could also hang it in my old house. Since the house is currently unoccupied, and the door is unlocked, this would be logistically simple. Plus, the next inhabitants of the house (which could quite possibly include me next season) would get to enjoy the painting without any explanation or context which might mitigate its effect. To do its best work, the painting should appear to be an unowned object, but one which still appears important and deliberate. I cannot guarantee, however, that the next inhabitants (or indeed the owner) of the house will not throw the painting away.

Perhaps the most sensible thing to do would be to mail it to German Anna. That would ensure that the painting is extra awkward and inexplicable for people who see it. I could also take the painting with me, but it will just stay hidden away while I mooch around until I stay somewhere with enough wall space to hang it, and I don't know when or where that will be, or who will be there to judge me unfavourably when they see it.