Original painting: The Confidential

Original painting of three girlfriends share a snippet of gossip at a party.

Story: Now, keep it to yourself, but...

Have you heard the latest?

It's all a bit hush-hush, but...

You want to know more, don't you? Despite yourself. Because there's something about gossip. Those moments when someone leans in towards you, their tone sotto voce, and shares something that ought to be secret. It's exciting when they raise their hand to their chest and look you straight in the eye and whisper. And then your reaction, exaggerated. Perhaps you'll touch your cheek, theatrically aghast; perhaps you'll sit up straighter in a caricature of righteous indignation. And all the while, just for being unable to tear yourself away, you'll feel the tiniest bit guilty.

But between you and me...

I don't think it's about what they have to say at all. You see, your heart races before they even reveal their snippet of information, their little kernel of maybe-it's-true. So I think it's just about knowing something you shouldn't know. I think it's all about the confidential.