The Renfield Syndrome by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 17

In his attempt to broaden the themes of his paintings and thus his view on the world, Caspian chose to study the works of the impressionist painters as well as Van Gogh. Unlike the impressionists, Caspian saw Van Gogh’s style as somewhat chaotic yet beautiful with what appeared to be haphazard strokes and swirls of blue, black, and yellow. He soon became obsessed with Van Gogh’s work and quickly understood why he had come to be seen as the greatest painter to ever live. Of course, what spoke to him the most was the work he had created. But one morning after rising from sleep, he noticed something odd about it. He had never moved it or adjusted its position on the wall, but what he noticed was something he had not placed there. Mixed in with the dark colors he had used was a pair of red eyes. Their appearance had suddenly taken him aback as a jolt of fear surged through him. How could he have missed this? Was it even possible to paint something like this and be completely unaware of doing it? As mixed up as his mind was, he surmised that the human mind is a very complex and dynamic thing and that perhaps it does things that parts of the brain are unaware of.

“These things probably happen all the time,” he thought.

But one thing was certain: what he saw among the swirled colors and broad strokes seemed to add to the darkness he had created. As far as the eyes were concerned, he was past it and would not give them a second thought. At least, that’s what he believed.