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A Strange Tale

Photo copyright: Marie Gail Stratford
Photo copyright: Marie Gail Stratford

It was a strange thing thought Lowry, one minute he was an old man in Salford in the midst of a conversation with one of his paintings. The next moment he was standing in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, talking to the same painting. Yet now he was a young art graduate.

When he left the gallery Lowry saw shapes and shadows and matchstick men and women. He unpacked his I-pad and started to sketch, deft strokes saw a new world appear. Gone was the smog, instead the sun shone in his work, yet the matchstick people remained.

This Post Has 41 Comments
  1. Immediately thought of the 1968 chart “Pictures of Matchstick Men” by Status Quo (Ozzy Osbourne did a version in 1997) but when Googling, found out there was a 2003 film called Matchstick Men starring Nicolas Cage.

    Not sure what to make of Lowery (or Lowry) talking to a painting and finding himself suddenly whisked back to a much earlier time in his life.

    1. Thank you James, I like the stories that sit behind Lowry’s paintings. The prompt phot spoke to me of Lowry’s style. I rather hurriedly wrote this piece of flash whilst I waited to meet a friend for coffee. I really intended the story to be about reincarnation. Sorry about the spelling mistake of Lowry, I have now removed the [e]

      1. They captured something about the time, didn’t they? I like them too and they gave a view of life that many in the Southern centric art world hadn’t seen much of before

  2. I’m with Reena on this. Lowry is so bound up in his art that he feels only mild curiosity at being displaced 60 years and 3000 miles. Smashing take on today’s prompt!

    1. The question is what happened to him in missing years, was he abducted or reincarnated. Then again perhaps I just have two characters who both see and treat art in the same way. Writing flash often leaves me with unanswered questions

  3. Your story reminds me of the show in the USA during the early 1960’s called “The Twilight Zone”. In fact, your story could had been one of the better episodes. I like reading your story. Very imaginative.

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