Sketches & Scribbles || Catfish
The base was what was giving Toulouse the most trouble. That wasn’t necessarily true, because he also could not decide how grandiose he wanted it to be. Simply one tier? Something simplistic, to be a more gentle place of reflecting? Several tiers of basins flowing one into another? To demonstrate Swynlake’s strength and their ability to come together?
But the base…that was the foundation. It was everything that the rest of the fountain would be built upon. It would symbolize Swynlake’s strength. Their steadiness in the face of tragedy. And while Toulouse may not believe in this project, or, necessarily, in Swynlake–that did not mean he would not do his best for this project. Toulouse Bonfamille never gave less than his best.
“Hm,” Lou hummed aloud, flipping the sketch back over. He had been considering Greek fountains as well. He had a penchant for classical architecture. An unfortunate side effect of growing up in Paris, taking trips to the palace of Versailles on weekends, and living down the street from the grand opera house.
That was not the only place he drew inspiration from. There were the fountains of Morocco, in more geometric shapes, with brilliant colorful tiles. Or Spanish fountains with their smoothed, oblong edges.
Marble was appealing, if only because he knew there would be glass squares, full of colorful reagents. And marble was appealing because it was expensive and strong and smooth. Though, yes, there was the budget to consider (annoying.) And it would mostly need to be commissioned. Which would be the case with any material that they decided.
“Oui, I was thinking marble as well.” He refrained from pointing out that marble was a stone. “Or granite.” If he went for anything, personally, it would be granite. Ideal for water features, but also expensive. “Limestone and Sandstone are cheaper options.” He didn’t bother signing any of this, as he didn’t know the name for any of the stones. “Considering much of the base will be covered with the reagent glass, I doubt anyone will want to shell out for the more expensive stone, though we could make an argument for durability, I suppose.”
Fisch cocked his head a bit as he watched the artist, his expression giving away his curiosity. - A hum and a page flip wasn’t very telling of what was going on inside Lou’s brain. (And truth be told, Reed had never been good at reading facial expressions or judging what someone’s vocal tone meant. So truly, he was in the dark here.) It was times like this when he wished he had the ability to read people’s minds!
After a moment of quiet pondering, he just gave a little shrug and decided that the other was ‘probably thinking something smart’ before forcing himself back onto the topic that he was meant to be focusing on. The fountain. After all, his design had looked like child’s play in compared the one he just saw. Time to give it another go!
His sketchbook was still where he had abandoned it, face down on the floor and basking in the sun. - He gave good and final stretch before getting comfortable again on the floor. This time criss-cross-applesauce, the notebook in his lap.
He would have laid on his stomach as that was clearly the most comfortable position known to man ( or at least, for people who insisted on sprawling out on the floor) but it was such an awkward position to sign in.. It didn’t exactly allow for a lot of hand movement. So applesauce seated, it was.
Granite. Fisch nodded with approval as Lou spoke, making little notes on all the materials he hadn’t come to consider yet. ‘It might be a hard sell, but if your heart gets set on one of the more expensive ones- sometimes people will just go whatever you suggest if you look confident enough.’ He replied, only half joking. ‘They might just take your word for it?’