An amateur painter attends his first art show, hoping to sell some of his work. He soon understands, however, that the path to success in art is not nearly as simple as he once perceived it to be.

A man who is trying to find his place in the world tries his hand at multiple professions but ultimately settles with painting. Though he has talent as a painter, he leaves his patrons unsatisfied, taking wild artistic liberties he takes with commissions—a lesson which his two closest friends will come to learn when he paints a portrait of one of them.

In contemporary times, a fifteen-year-old creative writing whiz is sent to a gifted creatives summer camp in Massachusetts, where he meets a young male trombonist. As the two become friends and the writer gets to know the trombonist’s family and their troubles, he turns the trombonist and his dying sister into novel characters. Everything changes when the trombonist discovers the writer’s manuscript.

After his longtime boyfriend kicks him out, a promising young illustrator moves to Arizona where he reflects on everything he’s had to do for money. As he tries to capture these memories in his paintings, he begins to understand all that he’s lost as well as what might be possible.

After twenty long years of destitution from being rejected by popular art sellers, an artist decides to reverse his misfortune by besting the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A seasoned painter in New York is confronted with his senility when a fresh, up-and-coming artist attempts to sell one of his pieces to him. Though the older painter isn't interested in his artwork, he is interested in his fresh, youthful wife.

An elderly amateur artist in New York calls an arts organization, asking for a young nude model to be sent to his home for his "sketches."

In a futuristic world, a young artist learns more about his grandfather, who is hiding from the government because he was accused of swindling. As the young artist navigates the art world and complicated relationships, he also discovers more about his family and the stolen money.

When a young hospital attendee runs away from charges of murder, he lands in the refuge of two artists. He stays to learn how to paint and begins to form secretive bonds with his strange hosts.

An aspiring artist goes to work for a businessman, hoping he can earn enough to follow his dream. Instead, he is forced to learn that dreams are not as important to the world as money.