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When you find yourself trying to remember a show (or any works) that's on the tip of your tongue but just out of reach, come here - the collective brain of the TVTropes community can probably help. Post all the details you can remember (examples help). If you're looking for a trope, head over to Trope Finder. Have general questions about tropes? Visit Ask The Tropers!

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GGGG Since: Jul, 2012
fawn Since: Aug, 2009
2012-09-28 17:12:26

Now I'm curious too.

^Not actually my favorite animal.
HeartOfAnAstronaut Since: Jan, 2001
2012-09-29 11:18:00

Reminds me of that episode of The Twilight Zone about the man who is a writer and can bring characters to life when he describes them into his dictaphone. It turns out his wife was a character he made up so he can cut the tape he recorded her onto and she vanishes.

Any chance it was a Roald Dahl story? His adult stories tend to deal with dark themes like this.

GGGG Since: Jul, 2012
2012-10-05 13:30:39

Ahh, A World Of His Own. Good episode.

I checked through Roald Dahl but the only painting related stories I could find were Skin, The Witches (which had the girl trapped in a painting) and Nunc Dimittis. None of those.

"Now I'm curious too." I know. It sounds like one of those great works of sinister Black Comedy where you can't help but chuckle. Reminds me of Roald Dahl's Lamb To The Slaughter.

Edited by GGGG
albinotiger Since: Mar, 2011
2012-10-07 11:28:07

I vaguely remember reading something about this before. Maybe it's one of Stephen King's short stories?

GGGG Since: Jul, 2012
2012-10-07 15:37:47

The only painting related one I can find is The Road Virus Heads North (not counting the Rose Madden novel) and it's neither of those.

Any other possible authors?

Edited by GGGG
ZeldaQueen Since: Jul, 2009
2012-10-13 13:17:35

GAH! This troper read that short story in high school, but for the life of her cannot remember the title or the author. I do remember the following:

- Besides painting his wife's picture, the man painted a picture of his wife's candelabra and crystal bowl (which he found gaudy and tasteless), a con man who swindled him, and the noisy motorcycle a punk kid kept riding up and down the street.

- The story starts off with the disappearance of the candelabra and bowl. The man has just painted the picture, and his wife mocks him for painting boring things. She then notices that the items have gone missing and bitches that he lost them.

- The man lives off of money his mother left him. His wife complains that he doesn't make money from his paintings, and derides him for "living off of [his] mother".

- The wife has an annoying little lap dog that the man hates. One of the other things the story starts with is the dog yapping to go out. The man lets it out, and the wife yells at him for letting her precious dog out in the rain. The dog catches a cold, and the wife is *pissed*.

- The man reveals to his wife that he painted a picture of her dog. The wife thinks it's adorable and congratulates him on finally painting something she thinks is worthwhile. The man, in a mocking way, suggests that she bring the dog to show the painting. The woman naturally can't find the dog, and thinks that the man got rid of it as a cruel joke.

- After the dog goes missing, the wife chases the man into his painting room. He locks himself in, and she screams that he can't hide forever, and will have to face her when he comes out. The man looks over his paintings, where it's officially revealed that everything he paints disappears (or goes in the painting, seeing as everything he paints looks astonishingly realistic). He gets out his paints, and reflects how he'll have to rearrange his gallery to make room for his "beloved [wife's name]".

- I think the wife's name was Edith or Edwina or something along those lines.

- I'm fairly sure that it wasn't written by Stephen King or Roald Dahl, but my mind might just be playing tricks.

Hope that info is helpful. ^^;

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