My studio’s finally moved to Carrd! Pretty spacious there with bigger walls, a lot more cabinets for storage, and a lot more room for ideas. I’ll still be taking some strolls here on X, but all details on Prices, Guidelines, and Studio Status can now be found at adelcreates.carrd.co. How’s that for a slice of fried gold!

Pretty Penny The first coin ever earned is sometimes the most important. The power is too great, and the possibilities are endless. When faced with that gleaming engraved metal, the attitude in the first purchase can define what kind of people one can meet and what kind of fate one can have. Many legends and tragedies have been written around them, the wise multiplying their gifts and the greedy rotting in their hoard. What fate lies beyond the wide eyed girl with her pouch full of coins? In the lively streets of Waterdeep, the signs above storefronts invite the curious and the wealthy. The glass windows tempt with their displays teasing half of what's inside. I have my shop lined up in these lanes, calling forth enthusiasts of the arts. It is my shop that draws her in. By fortnight, she claims her dried portrait in awe and pride, cheekily flaunting it to her brother. She anticipates his reaction towards it, the one thing that matters to her more than this painting, more than coins. Charlie, played by @HaniniManzana.

Cloud Nine A long, straight road stretches northwards along Sword Coast, travelling through forests and humble towns and into the grand city of Waterdeep. This is where Trade Way ends and the High Road begins, the famed trade route paved through five towns and cities. You know when you have arrived. The gatekeeper, reciting a long list of rules, slowly fade into the noise as you make your way past the entrance and the rustic throttle of horses begin to echo from cobbled streets. Merchants, driving alongside you, start to slow down, giving way to citizens on foot. You'll have to watch out for the skies too, or you'll miss the Griffon Riders patrolling from above! Flying low this time was not a rider swooping down to rest but a little floating shop soaring over the wagons and gently landing in a plaza amongst curious customers. Any law-abiding citizen would know this sight is quite rare; so is the experience in the shop that hovers. Once her pavement signs are set, Ms. Eden folds her hands and stands by the door with a warm smile welcoming all. I was lucky enough to get in queue for her roasted bean brews and pastries. Eden Cloudfall, played by @daniphin.

Slots are filled! Thank you all for choosing my tiny shop for your portraits. 🙏 Though doors must close eventually, there are always a few more canvases, stretched and waiting for the next faces. I have been preparing something special for the next opening. So, make sure to gather your friends at a roundtable for this one! Thank you again, and have a worthwhile journey ahead!

If you follow High Road at Trades Ward, there's a huge turn there that leads to Blackhorn Alley. I may have to move to a quainter street due to the giant rats, but for now, you'll find my shop there. If you're thinking of grabbing a portrait, I've set my homunculus' countdown timer on "Studio Status" at adelcreates.carrd.co for the opening. Thank you for your patronage! Hope to see you tomorrow. 👋

It's been an amazing batch of portraits recently, and I'm excited to meet the new faces! My studio opens for portraiture this Sunday. Signage will flip to open at adelcreates.carrd.co. If you haven't learned the alarm spell, you can keep an eye out on "Studio Status" at Carrd. My homunculus has set the timer for you. See you there! 👋

Got my new selection of drapery installed, perfect backdrops to frame our heroes. I’ll be opening my studio for portraiture in a few days. If you’re thinking of dropping by, I’ve got my homunculus, adelcreates.carrd.co, lay out the details and prices. Make sure to check it out, and keep an eye out for future announcements. See you soon!

Order & Chaos After miles of travel, our bodies ease into the stillness of the concrete ground. I’ve got a whole schedule here. The horses gently rattle forward to my first destination as I watch through my side window. We’re back in the huge metropolis with a whole world of its own. Its huge gate welcomes all. It’s hard to miss when the stories you hear come to life before your eyes. Fighters with shields upon their backs, bards chanting passersby with their songs, cloaked figures casually walking about. Everyone is here, and when they come in the form of an odd duo, they work together like a dance. A fellow in pristine armour walks steady and wise, eyes looking around for any trouble. One such trouble is not so far away. Fifteen feet behind him, sometimes ten feet before him, most of the time just beside him, his lady moves like a cat. Her scheming hands cannot be contained, and once she walks past, the armoured man stops upon the merchant and leaves enough golden coins as remorse. The peculiar mix of order and chaos tells me I truly have arrived at Baldur’s Gate. Lisia Scarlett Auclaire & Alexis Tristram Windemund, played by @jdactyl277.

Paints, restocked. ✅ Now, off to clean the studio.

Keepsake Would she like flowers? What kind? What colour? Maybe something more precious. A pair of pearls? An amulet? A ring? The big man has made several strolls by the gift shops, peering down through the windows, and he always left scratching his head. He searched far and wide. He searched deep within. What would please the noble lady? A decision was made, and he was proud of it. This was the gift that she was going to like. He returned in the direction of a painting shop and brought the lady with him this time, her arms wrapped around his. Portraiture. It was the most sophisticated gift he could think of, and she could not help but smile. She was content, but he smiled in earnest hope that he could give her more. Lady Jitka & Ealdread Athelston, played by @popesheo & @Kovun3.

Noble's Pretense On mornings where I have no scheduled portraitures for the day, I and my bookkeeper attend to a few lords and ladies who browse through my shop for paintings on sale or carved frames for their own. Among those who browse is a man in an embellished teal coat and an ornate rapier dangling by his left hip. Quite a sociable man as he joins in on other patrons’ perusing from time to time, “That one matches your eyes, my lady.” “You really think so?” she returns. It adds some colour to these steadily-paced hours where the morning meets the afternoon. But the man is merely distracted by his eagerness to make company. He is in fact dressed to request for a portrait, particularly because he had just purchased a new set of, oh what did he call it, justacorps and would like to preserve this look in a painting. He talks of journeying to a place called...Bavaria? I have never heard of it, but I hope his new look is enough for the city to welcome this friendly man. Saverio Marchisetti, played by @LkyBlkCatXIII

Waning Crescent A lady with pink bobbing curls rings my chimes, arriving at the shop with excitement across her face. She is followed by a huge companion who had to duck through the doorway, a charming warrior who enters with grace, and a hooded fellow who leans and waits by the door. Chatter and laughter grow as the group attempts to perform a professional transaction with my bookkeeper, counting coins by ones instead of twos. They saved enough gold for a portrait of their soft-spoken friend, Adira. “Thank you, Lady Adel. I hope we are not inconveniencing you,” she says in a low tone. I lead her to the studio where we begin her portraiture. She was a bit tense, smiling unnaturally and perhaps more anxious about finding the proper pose as her friends watched through the opening in the curtains behind me. They giggle in excitement for her, but for a moment, she watches one of them mouth a few words. It was enough to bring warmth to her expression and a slight smile.

Past the Seeing Eye First on the list, done. Second, done. Third, done. All of it, followed by flicks of the man’s ink. “Pleasure, I am Henry. You must be Adel.” He was thoroughly absorbed by the itinerary on his sheet and aims to tick them all to completion, including today’s portraiture for the duchess he escorts. We have concluded a transaction with him making little eye contact. It was one task after another. “Let’s get this done,” says Lady Alicia. Our hands shake through magic, whoa…. As soon as we sit down, silence befalls the studio. She keeps a stern expression and faces only forward, her blue falcon scanning the room for her. The hours never grow dull. She stays still and upright, but once in a while, her eyes squint with curiosity, studying every detail of my easel, my brushes, my floorboards. Her eyes follow my every move, her ever observing eyes that paint a picture of me in her head. I only wonder what else she sees. Lady Alicia Avery Berrycloth, played by @ruskillaS.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back “Thank you for coming!” Once, twice, three times. I remember closing my doors to the man in the silken red shirt too many times. He was incrementally closer to the minute every single time. His expression, always dismayed at the exact same words, “Thank you for coming!” He waits again. Though sometimes, fate is playful. He was the second customer and brought no lute this time. Instead, a rose. “Ciao! My name is Alfonso.” How did I resist the smooth charms of this man before? I had finally given time for his portraiture. A natural he was, posing as if he had practiced in front of the mirror a few times, but oh silly me. He was dressed early for a reason. The rose was not for anyone else but for the lady he anticipates at the docks. He then waits again. Alfonso Ayedark, played by @drawing_angie.

Untethered Esteem I see them approaching. The lady with the crystalline fluid hair eagerly pulls her beloved by the hand. I continue cleaning my jars, but I can already hear it all even from inside. The silence breaks with my chimes announcing their arrival. It has been a very special week for them both, Sir Diego introducing her as his betrothed. I promised for their portraits to be just as special. I learned to become comfortable with intimacy in the studio. Love is a rare moment that can only be captured when I am looking, but I will admit. Perhaps, I should not be looking right now. Past the playful romance, he takes her hand, and with their sincerest of gazes, they both sigh with the excitement of the uncertain future. Diana Koray and Diego Brumazul, played by @FranBautistart and @itsBerru.

Lightning The daily groceries must be done, but as the looming grey skies and rolling thunders slowly approach, there are minutes that the patrons take advantage of while no blots of water can be seen on the ground. The streets grow less busier for a moment, and the only ones left are rushing customers and occasional travelling roofed carriages. The rain falls. All have taken shelter, some standing under any canopy they find. My storefront windows blur out in the cold rain as the lady standing there is tucked tightly in the corner, refusing to look at the skies. A flash of deafening pure white light fills the city, and I wonder if the god behind the clouds revels in this. I think she is afraid. I let her in my shop while we wait to let it pass.

Starstruck I don’t think my studio was ready for the tidying up I did today. See, the canvases were lined up, paints behaved on the shelves like children, and all the brushes were tucked away in mugs. I had just locked the front entrance and prepared the backdoor for her arrival. Signage is now flipped to “closed.” Finally, she’s here, seated right at the center. Surreal! Her smile, her laugh. What magnetic charm she brings! Her assistants and guards are scattered and stand right where they need to. I begin sketching, but my mind runs. Would they use my painting for a poster? Is she preparing for her next show? I cannot believe how a task so mundane as this is making me feel immensely electric. There must be a word for this sort of thrill.

There it is, blowing in the wind and slipping through the cracks of the doors. The purple glow lands gently upon my desk. I blink twice to understand what I see. No, not a falling leaf. It is a fella, smartly dressed and decorated. He fixes his coat, almost displeased that the little illusory drumrolls I play are not a call to action but a mere call for his attention. “Hello, sir! This painting on the leaf, it is you, isn’t it? I attempted to capture your likeness in my own painting. Not as impressionistic as yours, but I hoped I came close.” He takes my gift, quite impressed that I had painted it on a tiny canvas. “She’s going to like this,” he says with a cheeky smile. He slaps his forehead as if remembering something, “Oh, shoot! I must find my way home! Will you help me?”

Halls with pillars towering high, curtains draped to the floor, candles lit upon chandeliers, today was a special day. Much like the voices of the arriving guests and the symphony playing in the air, I am filled with all sorts of thrilling emotions, an overwhelming mix of joy and anxiety that an assembly of total strangers get to look at my exhibit of paintings up close. I feel so little in these great halls, and even smaller against the giant curious lady in a beautiful blush gown with bright fiery hair over there. She came to me to give her compliments and graciously wished she’d have a similar painting of herself. I hate to stare too long, but truly, it was me who was enchanted enough by her to say yes.

It went by like regular routine. The two ladies sat for a portrait two weeks ago and came back to claim the dried paintings, but at my studio, not a day goes by without something extraordinary to behold. They requested the portraits be unframed. “Stay still,” said Ms. Mavis as I held the portraits on both my hands. She takes a breath and closes her eyes. Seconds pass. She raises her arms, recites a poem in a different tongue, and waves her hands in the air, a rhythmic ritual that lightened the paintings I carry until they have shrunk as small as a thumb. They took the paintings from my palms and inserted them into golden lockets. “I hope they like these,” says Ms. Alice. I wave goodbye as they leave and fade away to another plane….