Catherine Parr- Painter (c)



"Thank you for this opportunity milady," you smiled fondly, placing your bag on the floor, doing your best to not drop the easel that you had dragged into the room to use.

"Nonsense," the Queen laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "You have great talent, far more than any of the male painters whom were suggested to me."

You couldn't help your cheeks becoming redder as she complimented you. Although you hadn't been working as a painter for that long, you had never had the opportunity to work with someone of her status. Catherine was the sixth wife to King Henry VIII and for some reason she asked you to paint her portrait. The previous queens had all been painted by men and as far as you knew every monarch previously to rule England and most of the countries on the continent had only ever had male painters do their portraits. You wished that there was more work for a female like yourself but having the Queen of England as a client would hopefully be appealing.

"Men with half the talent usually get the job," you whispered. "I have had many a lady forbid me from painting their portrait in fear that people would mock the work even though the man they did hire could barely hold the paint brush let alone form something beautiful."

Catherine offered you a weak smile, sitting down in the comfy chair that was placed in the centre of the room specifically for her to have her portrait painted. It would be a long process and it would be unlikely that she would comfortably sit still for the whole duration but the better the chair, the longer she could.

"It is their loss. I saw the portrait of my lady's maid for her mother, when she told me the mere price it baffled me that you charged so little," she stated. "Then when she told me you had little paid work due to being a woman, I couldn't bear to see such talent be lost. It is a cruel fate being born a woman and instantly having a disadvantage thrown upon you. We may have to work twice as hard to get half as far, but we are able to do so if we set our minds to it."

You nodded your head, unfolding the easel so you could set up your workspace so that you could work. The two of you shared pleasant conversation as you worked to somehow express her beauty with northing more than paint.

~*~

Written by Charlotte.

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