‘Destroy’ is an exaggerated statement. If I had have had more room in the title of this entry it would have been something like this: AN ARTIST GETS A LITTLE BIT OF ACRYLIC PAINT ON HIS PARENTS FLOORBOARDS AND OTHER PROPERY THAT’S NOT HIS HOUSE AND HIS AND HE GETS INTO A FIGHT WITH HIS PARENTS.. I think that is a better description than destroying a house, since the damage is minimal and, in most cases, can be easily removed. Here’s the deal, folks… I currently live with my parents. I get along with them, but I’m also an artist who creates large abstract paintings with thick paint, and the paint doesn’t always stick to the canvas. Sometimes the paint ends up on the lawn or a little on the entrance back room floor where I set my canvases to dry. Some paintings can take weeks to fully dry. I’m not claiming to be blameless for these little mishaps — I know this is not my house — but incidents do happen. I clean the obvious spots, yet there are always parts of the yard I miss. This is no one’s fault but my own, though sometimes I wish my old man would take it easier when there are drops of paint on the grass. We’re talking water-soluble acrylics. I’m not using oils. If it were my house, oil paint might be my medium of choice, but that simply wouldn’t work while living here. It’s hard arguing with my dad because I know he’s in the right, but jeez! I need a studio or a space where I can make a little mess without it feeding my paranoia and anxiety. My mum is much more laid-back about it, but like a good partner she often takes his side during the battles we’ve had numerous times in the past. I’m getting over it. Dad wants me painting, but he wants it on his terms. I’ll say he did give me a small section on the back patio where I can keep my paints — he built it for me — and he’s a bit more lenient about the mess I make there. That helps, but accidents still happen. At the end of the day, they are my parents who have taken me in, put a roof over my head and feed me. Rent isn’t cheap, but it could be so much worse. That’s my Monday morning rant.