color question crisis

Virginia picked me up at the end of her day for a date night. We drove to town center and parked in one of several garages there. We looked at a book that one of her colleagues lent her to show to me because it was filled with wonderful pictures, and then as we walked to the elevator we were talking about other art-related things.

As we waited for the elevator a woman overheard our conversation, and the woman looked at me and said:

"Well then, let me ask you... what color IS this??" Referring to the color on the elevator-bank wall that denoted this particular floor. I didn't know her and the question came out of the blue.

I said, "Well now...... that would be 'Unfortunate'." And just looked at her and waited. She got my joke and we all stepped onto the elevator when the doors opened.

She said, "No seriously, what color is it?"

I said that it was an intense shade of fuchsia ranging to purple, and still unfortunate... but somehow the people who designed the parking garage never consulted me on the colors before they painted these walls. She asked if I knew colors, and I said yes, I am a painter......

And she said:

"A house painter or........"

And I said:

"A professional artist.... although I did paint houses in high school." And grinned at her.

And she smiled a big smile as we got off the elevator and walked toward the town square which was positively buzzing and bustling with people. She talked about the decorative sidewalk tiles that were recently replaced in several locations in the square because somehow some design guru had not realized that they became tremendously slippery when wet (and whispered "I am a lawsuit waiting to happen" all day long), and also mentioned that she had helped on a committee to design the new library.

We reached the place where our paths would part and she asked again what color that was, and I said it was an intense shade of fuchsia ranging to purple, and smiled at her once more. We said our goodbyes and Virginia and I strolled to a restaurant for dinner, another color question crisis averted.

An artist's work is never done.