I find many things humor filled. About ten years ago, I was
working in my former gallery and a well turned out gentleman walked into the
store. I could tell he was a collector. His questions were pertinent, his
knowledge was vast. He let me know he was from California and he was interested
in finding some small token. He however was completely enamored of something of
greater value. He kept coming back to a specific artwork and by his body
language I could tell he was going to purchase the artwork even though he had
not let on just yet. First he spoke up and said, “my God, she has become a
fabulous artist.” He said, do you know the artist? I said, “Well enough”. He
began to tell me that the artist lived in California but that he had lost
contact with her. They were very good friends, they used to share an apartment
and go to dinner once a week, he spent all his time watching her paint, and he
was ‘that much in love with her, but that she was passion filled for her art
and had no time for other humans.’ As some point he wanted to know if I would
send her a message for him. He did not do the computer himself but assumed I
would indeed give her the message it was that important he reconnected with
her.
As he took a hold of the artwork finally and brought it to the
counter for wrap up and payment he continued to wax philosophical about the
artist. He did know quite a bit about her but I was flummoxed at where he got
the information. I asked him and he admitted he stalked the internet to learn
everything he could about her, in fact, he was going to take the painting home
and then do his best to contact with her and let her know he had purchased
something from her artworks and possibly she would consider having lunch with
him again. I had him describe the artist. It was near spot on to her looks so I
was even more confused by the conversation. This is where things took a rather
funny turn. He questioned me on my knowledge of the artist and I gave him the
pat answers of her biography. Finally after going on and on about her the
customer took his artwork and smiling in contentment wandered out the door and
away.
For those of you who know me, you know I struggled to not
snort until he walked out the door. I turned and looked at my volunteer help
and shook my head. She too raised her eyebrows and said, ‘Either the artist he
was talking about was an impostor or he was a nut case’.
See, since I also had three of my artworks hung in the store.
I rarely if ever let on they were from my hand if it was an out of town buyer. Some
customers don’t like to buy directly from the artist and so I would not mention
some of my art was in the store. The
artwork he purchased was one of mine. I could only think he was reading about
me and had applied the knowledge to her since he was convinced she was the real
Cecile Grace Charles.
I looked up this artist he was talking about and sure enough
there was a woman passing herself as me, Cecile Grace Charles. She was using my
biography, and had copied much of my older works and had these images on her
website. Her art copies were a pale rendition of what comes from my hand. She must have come upon me from a show, I was
traveling a lot more back then for out of town shows and I can only assume the
idea to take on my persona came to her through a chance meeting at one of these
shows. She had been pretending for almost five years that she was me. It was
right after I married my husband my last away show in California before I got
so busy with the gallery I could not travel as much.
Being that she was assuming my life I called the cops and
had them sort her out. She had been passing herself off as me for quite a few
years, living off a succession of sugar daddies interested in keeping an
artist. She had a class or two in art but no real training. I can only think
she was a good house mate and a great
conniver. Or the men she chose to cheat were rather easy targets. She got
little over a year in jail but I doubt that stopped her from passing herself
off as someone else creative once she got out. She had quite the story going as
me. The impostor Cecile Grace Charles, has disappeared, I am the original. Who
knows who she is pretending to be now.
Even now I sure hope the fella who bought my artwork
appreciates the fact he owns a real Cecile Grace Charles artwork and not a fake
one. More than likely though if he ever finds out, he will be disappointed for
the love of his life did not paint the artwork.
~
The real point of the story is people are hurting, they are grasping for anything to make themselves feel better. Sometimes you have to hold onto the hope that God will intervene in a persons life if they are so lost that in their mind they have to make up a person to become because they don't think they are anything themselves. The secular world brings people to do things contrary to God's design.
So, what do we do?
Well, and amazing thing happened this week I got a message from the gentleman in the story through my artist website email. He found her again and unfortunately she was up to her old tricks. He is devastated by her deceptions. However, I have held out a hand in friendship and hope to have long email conversations with him that brings about his need for God. Pray for her will you? He did not say what name she is going by now, but pray for her anyway. Pray for this gentleman too as well. His name is James.
Be blessed in all that you do.
I realize that this prayer is a bit harsh sounding to some but there are consequences you know to misbehaving. But the hope of the prayer is to end the lying.
Psalm 12New Century Version (NCV)
A Prayer Against Liars
Save me, Lord,
because the good people are all gone;
no true believers are left on earth.
Everyone lies to his neighbors;
they say one thing and mean another.
The Lord will stop those flattering lips
and cut off those bragging tongues.
They say, “Our tongues will help us win.
We can say what we wish; no one is our master.”
But the Lord says,“I will now rise up,
because the poor are being hurt.
Because of the moans of the helpless,
I will give them the help they want.”
The Lord’s words are pure,
like silver purified by fire,
like silver purified seven times over.
Lord, you will keep us safe;
you will always protect us from such people.
But the wicked are all around us;
everyone loves what is wrong.
