A painter is walled-in by the colors of the spectrum, the textures of his brush, the physical properties of watercolors and oils. He helped Tippy up to his miniature, but still elephantine, hind legs. They don't like crucifixes in pickle jars of urine because their faith is weak, and they're afraid of being tricked into losing it. Or maybe they're convinced God is thin-skinned. They're frightened because they think the artist has made God angry.
Some people know better.
Tippy wanted a cigarette, but the museum did not permit smoking. Also, he lacked the physical dexterity to hold a cigarette, to bring it to his mouth or to light it, and his beak-like lips were incapable of closing completely around the filter, a necessary qualification for inhaling smoke. It's why turtles live so long, his doctor told him. I have a promotional coupon for a free 'Sunday Afternoon With a Grande Skim Latte'. As Tippy yelped, Pirate imagined a line-drawing of himself on the inside of a matchbook.