4話:絵の具探し*3
それからまた、ひたすらに絵の具を作り続けた。色のついたものをそのまま貼り付けてもいいってことに気づいてしまったら、色々なものを絵の具にしたくなる。
花びらの色も、花びらをそのまま貼り付ければ鮮やかな絵の具になった。
葉っぱも、表と裏で色が違う。どちらの色も作った。
苔を見つけて、それも絵の具にした。木の実の皮も絵の具にした。樹皮も、片っ端から絵の具にした。
それから、蝶の死骸!これが発見で......僕の両手くらいの大きさのオレンジ色の蝶の死骸が落ちていたから、その羽を貰って、輝くようなオレンジ色の絵の具ができた。
......どこかにルリタテハとかモルフォ蝶とか落ちてないかな。そうしたら青が作れるのに。
その日の絵の具づくりはそこまでにした。何故かって言うと......とても、疲れてしまったからだ。
妙なかんじだった。ずっと絵を描いていたから目が疲れたり肩が凝ったりしたのかな、とも思ったけれど、それとは違う。
今までに感じたことが無い怠さと、力が入らないような妙なかんじ。ついでに、貧血を起こした時みたいに目眩がする。
これは多分、泉を作って気絶した時のアレだと思う。
考えるに僕は、絵を実体化させすぎると体調が悪くなるんだと思う。今もこうして、一日に何本も絵の具を作ってはしゃいでいたら体調不良になってしまったし......これが行き過ぎると泉の時みたいに気絶する、んじゃないだろうか。
......ということは、ある程度計画的にやらないといけない。無計画にやたら大きなものを描いていたら、その内気絶じゃすまなくなりそうだ。
大きめのイーゼルとか、巨大キャンバスとかはやめておいた方がいいかな......。いつか、壁画とかもやってみたいけれど......うーん、やるとしても、気絶覚悟、かもしれない。
僕はフライパンでベーコンと卵を焼きながら、考える。計画的に絵を実体化させないといけないんだから、考えなければならない。
今、欲しいものは何だろう。
まず最初に、青い絵の具。これは絶対だ。青が無いと描きたいものが満足に描けない。それは嫌だ。何よりも嫌だ。だから青い絵の具は何よりも欲しい。
......けれどその前に、筆が欲しい。
今、絵の具は全部、指にとって使っている。流石にこれは不便だから、筆が欲しい。筆は今の状態でも描いたら作れそうだから、まずは筆を描こうかな。
それから、紙。紙も欲しい。実体化した絵は紙の上から消えてしまうからいいんだけれど、うっかりしくじると紙の上に残り続ける。それを繰り返しているとコピー用紙はいずれ無くなってしまうので、紙も確保しておきたいな。
......紙に紙の絵を描いたら紙ができるだろうか?まあいいや、やってみよう。それから、もしできるなら、画用紙がほしい。コピー用紙って水彩絵の具と相性が悪すぎる。はじくし、よれるし、すぐ破れそうだし、乾きにくいし......。
......それから。
絵の具や筆や画用紙なんかよりずっと優先順位は低いんだけれど......。
家が欲しい。
できれば、家が欲しい。
家の中で落ち着いて絵を描きたいし......あと、そろそろ、野宿が辛くなってきた。
けどまあ、これは最後でいいよ。何なら、テントとかでもいいや。雨避けだけ、どこかで作っておけばいいかな......。
ということで、まずは筆を描いた。のだけれど......案外、苦労した。
何と言うか......筆の毛先の描き方によって、筆の形状も、材質も、変わってしまうようなのだ。
これは困った。まさか筆で苦労するとは思わなかった。
けれど筆については誤魔化しようが無いし、筆の穂先の細い毛1本1本を材質にこだわって描き分けるなんて、今の僕の技量じゃできそうにない。......だって、筆も高いから中々買えなかった。その分、観察もできてない。
......まあ、これは追々やっていこう。元の世界でだって、安い筆3本くらいでずっとやってたんだし。指よりは絶対にマシだし。
次は紙。
......紙に紙を描くって絶対に難しいと思ったから、スケッチブックの類を描いた。鉛筆デッサン用のクロッキー帳と、画用紙が入っている奴。あと、水彩用の画用紙の奴も。
水彩用の奴は元の世界で買いたかったけれど、資金が心許なかったから買うのを断念した奴だ。画用紙自体も厚くて上質で、しかも水張りしなくても歪んだりよれたりしないように、紙の四方が固めてある。高級品だ。
......紙の方は筆みたいに苦労しないで作れてしまった。表紙を描くだけで中身も作れるって、便利だ。筆での苦労が理不尽に感じる。いや、実は紙の方も、中身が本物とは全然違うものに仕上がっていたりするのかもしれないけれど......まあ、高い紙なんて元々使ったことは無かったからいいや。どうせ僕には違いが分からないよ。
それにしても、手に入ってしまった。憧れの水彩用スケッチブック。
絵が実体化するとなると、今まで諦めていた画材も使いたい放題なんだな。これは......すごく、嬉しい。わくわくする。
昼食を削らなくても画材が手に入る。値段なんて気にせず、手に入れられる。
油絵の具だってその内全部揃えてやる。絵の具が高すぎて絶対にできないと思っていたけれど、日本画とかにも挑戦できるかもしれない。漆も金粉銀粉も使い放題だから蒔絵とかもできる。上等な大理石の塊を出して、贅沢に彫刻もできるかもしれない。
作ってみたいものは沢山ある。やってみたいことも沢山ある。そして、今の僕にはそれができる!
......駄目だ、考えれば考える程嬉しくなってしまう。顔がにやける。
でも、こうやって嬉しくなってくると気力が沸いてくるような気がする。
この気持ちは、この変な世界に来るまでほとんど感じたことが無かった奴だ。ずっと小さい頃に感じたっきりだった奴。その気持ちが、今、僕を動かしてる。
悪い気分じゃない。どこまでもどこまでも、自分の好きなだけ、自分の好きなように進んでいける感覚。進んでいきたい感覚。
......多分、僕はずっとずっとこの気持ちを持っていた。でも、この気持ちを溢れさせないようにしてただけだったんだろう。
だから、今は好きなだけ溢れさせておこう。気持ちが駄々洩れになるのって、なんだか慣れない感覚だけれど......嫌な感覚じゃ、ない。
このあたりで昼になってしまったから、パンを描いて齧りながら次の絵を描いた。
高級水彩紙を使って描く第一号は......鞄。
......スケッチブックを考えなしに3冊も出してしまったから、紙袋には収まらなくなってしまった。しょうがないから鞄を描く。ちゃんとした奴。
どんな鞄にしようかな、と思って、最初に思いついたのが、帆布でできた大きな肩掛け鞄だった。
柿渋で染めてあるんだったかな。とにかく丈夫で長持ちだって、先生が言ってた。......そう。これは、先生が使ってた鞄だ。使い込んで草臥れたかんじが何となく好きで、ちょっと憧れだった。
その憧れの鞄を思い出しながら、憧れだった水彩紙の上に描いていく。
......ああ、やっぱり、コピー用紙と全然違うな。絵の具の色がすごく綺麗に出る。よれない。破れない。乾きも早い!
なんというか......高いものって高い理由があるんだなあ、と、思った。
そうして、鞄ができた。
記憶にあるそのままの鞄。
......試しに肩にたすき掛けにしてみたら、僕には紐が長すぎた。こういうところまで記憶そのままだ。
なんとなく面白くて1人で笑いながら紐の長さを調節して、背負い直す。......うん。悪くない。
僕はそこに鉛筆とコピー用紙とブランケットと光る花を入れて......スケッチブック3冊と筆、それからナイフと、大量の絵の具のチューブを入れていく。
大きな鞄には、それらがすっぽり収まった。これが、この世界での僕の全財産。
......なんだか嬉しい。
夕方になってしまったので、とりあえず眠る準備をする。
......ただ、今日は絵の具を大量に実体化させなかったからか、昨日よりは気力があった。
だから、雨風を凌げる場所くらいは作ろうかな。折角だし。
......ということで、描くものは、柱。
できた。泉から少し離れたところに、柱が3本立った。
僕の身長を超える柱だったからか、少し疲れてしまった。うん、やっぱり絵を実体化させ続けると疲れるみたいだ。
でももうひと踏ん張り。僕は次に、大きな布を描く。
......夕方から柱を描き始めたから、布を描き始める頃にはもう暗くなりかけていた。でも、光る花を適当に地面に刺して立てて、それを明かりにしつつスケッチブックの表紙を机にして、描く。
そうして、すっかり夜になった頃には大きな布ができていた。厚手のフェルト。羊毛をイメージしたんだけれど、多分これ、化繊だ。僕の想像力が貧困だったのか、それとも画力のせいなのか......。
これもちょっと疲れたけれど、柱よりはマシだったかな。
僕は、布の端を持って、柱に向かって投げ上げる。......何回かやっている内に、上手い具合に柱に布が引っかかった。後は適当に整えながら布を引っ張って......。
「おやすみ」
出来上がったテントの中に入って、僕は眠ることにした。
なんだか外が騒がしかったから。
......騒がしいな、と思って目を覚ましてから、凍り付いた。
いや、だって......騒がしい、ってことは、テントの外に何かいる、って、ことだろう。
そして、こんな森の中で、何かが居るとしたら......ええと、何?動物?獣?
......聞こえてきたのは、キョキョキョ、キュ、みたいな鳴き声。それから、バサバサという、羽音。
怖々、テントの端を捲って外を覗いてみたら......そこには、驚くべき光景があった。
頭から胸がオレンジ色で、お腹は滑らかな灰色。翼は茶色で、尻尾はオレンジ。形としては、大体スズメ。
コマツグミ、という鳥によく似た、それでいてコマツグミのイメージを全部壊すような大きさの......。
......翼を広げた端から端まで5mぐらいありそうな、怪鳥の姿を。
そんな怪鳥が、僕が作った泉で、水浴びしていた。
鳥というか怪鳥。そんなかんじの生き物を前にして、僕は固まっていた。いや、だって、こんなのどうしていいか分からない。
けれど、怪鳥の方もどうしていいか分からなかったらしい。
僕とバッチリ目が合った後......すぐに翼を広げて、飛び去ってしまった。
飛び去る時も、綺麗だった。色も綺麗だったし、形も綺麗だった。鮮やかな羽が青い空に映えて、すごくよかった。
それを見て、僕は、思った。
......あれ、描きたい。
Volume 1 - Ch 4
Then again, I just kept on making paints. Once I realized that I could paste colored things as they were, I wanted to use all sorts of things as paints.
The colors of flower petals became vivid paints if I pasted them as they were.
Leaves also have different colors on the front and back. I made both colors.
I found moss and used it as paint, too. The bark of nuts was also made into paint. I made paint from every piece of bark I could find.
And then there was the dead butterfly! ...I found this orange butterfly carcass, about the size of my two hands, and I got its wings and made shiny orange paint.
...I wonder if there's a Blue Admiral or a Morpho butterfly on the ground somewhere. Then I could make blue.
That was the end of my paint-making that day. Why?
It was a strange feeling. I thought maybe my eyes were tired or my shoulders were stiff because I had been painting for so long, but it wasn't the same thing.
I felt a sluggishness that I have never felt before, and a strange feeling of not being able to put any energy into my body. In addition, I felt dizzy as if I had anemia.
I think this is probably the same feeling I had when I fainted after making the spring.
I think I feel ill when I materialize too many pictures. Even now, when I make too many paints in a day, I feel sick. ...If I push myself too much, I will pass out as I did with the spring, I guess.
...that means I have to plan to some extent. If I am painting something too big without a plan, I will probably end up fainting.
I think it would be better not to use a large easel or a huge canvas. ...I'd like to do a mural someday, but I'm not sure if I'd be prepared to pass out if I did...
I think about it while frying bacon and eggs in a frying pan. I have to think about it because I have to materialize the picture systematically.
What do I want to do now?
First of all, blue paint. This is a must. Without blue, I will not be satisfied with what I want to paint. I don't want that. I hate it more than anything. That is why I want blue paint more than anything else.
...But first, I need a brush.
Right now, I use all my paints with my fingers. This is inconvenient, so I want a brush. I think I can make a brush if I paint with it even in my current state, so I think I'll paint a brush first.
Then, paper. I also want paper. It's okay that the materialized drawing disappears from the paper, but if I make a mistake, it will remain on the paper. If I keep doing that, the copy paper will eventually run out, so I want to secure some paper.
...If I draw a paper picture on paper, would it make paper? Oh well, I'll just give it a try. Then, if I can do it, I need some drawing paper. Copy paper is too incompatible with watercolors. It curls, it sags, it tears easily, it doesn't dry easily, and it's hard to use...
...Now.
It's a much lower priority than paints, brushes, and drawing paper...
I want a house.
If possible, I want a house.
I want to paint calmly in a house. ...Also, it's getting hard for me to stay in the field.
But, well, this is the last time. If I can't, I can use a tent or something. I just need to make a shelter from the rain somewhere...
So, first of all, I painted some brushes. But it was more difficult than I thought .......
How to say it... It seems that the shape and material of the brush change depending on the way the tip of the brush is drawn.
This was a problem. I didn't think I would have a hard time with the brush.
I can't fool myself about the brushes, and I don't think my current skills would allow me to draw each fine hair on the tip of the brush with particular attention to the quality of the material. ...I couldn't even buy a brush because they were too expensive. I can't even observe brushes because of that.
...Well, I'll work on this later. Even in the original world, I was doing it all the time with about three cheap brushes. It's definitely better than fingers.
Next is paper.
I thought it would be absolutely difficult to draw paper on paper... so I drew some kind of sketchbook. A croquis book for pencil drawing and may be some drawing paper. Also drawing paper for watercolor.
I wanted to buy paper for watercolors in my original world, but I couldn't afford it. The paper itself is thick and of high quality, and the four sides of the paper are stiffened so that it will not be distorted or warped even if it is moistened down. It is a luxury product.
I was able to make the paper without as much trouble as the brush. ...It's so convenient that I can make the inside just by drawing the cover. I feel that the hard work with the brush is unreasonable. No, in fact, the paper may have been made completely different from the real thing. ...Well, I never used expensive paper in the first place, so it's fine. I wouldn't know the difference anyway.
But still, I got it. A sketchbook for watercolor, which I have been longing for.
When a picture materializes, I can use all the art materials I've given up until now. This makes me very, very happy. ...I'm so excited.
I don't have to scrimp on my lunch to get art supplies. I don't have to worry about the price.
I'm going to get all the oil paints I need one of these days. I thought paints were too expensive and I would never be able to do it, but I may be able to try my hand at Japanese painting. I can use as much lacquer and gold and silver powder as I want, so I can do makie [T/N: Lacquer decoration with powdered metal.]. I might even be able to produce a block of fine marble and make sculptures.
There are many things I would like to make. There are many things I would like to try. And now I can do it!
...Woah, the more I think about it, the happier I become. My face is grinning uncontrollably.
But when I get happy like this, I feel like I have more energy.
This is a feeling that I had hardly ever felt before I came to this strange world. I had only felt it when I was much younger. That feeling right now is pushing me forward.
It's not a bad feeling. The feeling of being able to go as far and as fast as I want, as far and as fast as I want. A feeling of wanting to keep going.
I've probably had these feelings for a long, long time. ...But I guess I was just trying not to let it show.
So let it show as much as I want. It's an unfamiliar feeling to let my feelings free... but it's not a bad feeling.
It was lunchtime by this point, so I painted some bread and bit into it while I painted the next picture.
The first painting on fine watercolor paper was a... bag.
...I had created three sketchbooks without thinking, so I couldn't fit them in the paper bag. I had no choice but to draw a bag. A proper one.
I wondered what kind of bag I should make, and the first thing I thought of was a big shoulder bag made of canvas.
I think it was dyed with persimmon tannin. My teacher said it was durable and would last a long time. ...Yes, that's right. This is the bag he used. The first time I saw it, I thought it would be a great idea to have a new one.
While remembering the bag I longed-for, I replicated it with watercolor on paper.
...Ah, I knew it was totally different from copy paper. The colors of the paints come out very beautifully. It doesn't sag. It doesn't tear. It dries quickly!
I thought to myself, "So there's a reason... why expensive things are so expensive."
And so, the bag was made.
The bag is exactly as I remember it.
When I tried to hang it on my shoulder... the strap was too long for me. Even to this point, it is the same.
I was laughing to myself, adjusting the length of the strap and moving it on my back. ...Yeah, it's not bad. It's not bad at all.
I put pencils, copy paper, a blanket, and shiny flowers in it... and then three sketchbooks, brushes, a knife, and a large tube of paint.
They all fit perfectly in my large bag. This is all the valuables I have in this world.
...I'm pretty happy.
It's getting late in the evening, so I get ready for sleep for now.
... however, I had more energy than yesterday, probably because I didn't materialize a lot of paint today.
So, I think I'll at least make a place to shelter from the wind and rain. It's a good opportunity.
...so what I'm going to draw is a pillar.
It's done. Three pillars stood at a little distance from the fountain.
I was a little tired, perhaps because the pillars were taller than I am. Yes, it seems that I get tired when I keep materializing my drawings.
But I had to go one step further. Next, I will draw a large cloth.
Since I started painting the pillars in the evening... It was already getting dark by the time I started painting the cloth. But I put a shiny flower on the ground and used it as a light and used the cover of my sketchbook as a desk.
And so, by the time it was completely dark, I had a large piece of cloth. Like thick felt. I imagined it to be wool, but it was probably synthetic fiber. I don't know if it was my poor imagination or my drawing skills...
This was also a little tiring, but I guess it was better than the pillars.
I took the edge of the cloth and threw it up the pillar. After... a few times, the cloth caught on top of the pillar. After that, I pulled the cloth while adjusting it appropriately...
"Good night." (Tougo)
I climbed into my finished tent and went to sleep.
Because it was noisy outside.
...I woke up thinking that it was noisy, and then I froze.
No, because... noisy means there is something outside the tent.
And if there is something out there in the woods like this.... uh, what? An animal? A beast?
...What I heard were chirping, cooing, and cawing sounds. Then a rustling sound of wings.
Scared, I rolled up the edges of the tent and peeked outside. ...and there was a startling sight.
Orange from head to chest, smooth gray belly. The wings are brown and its tail is orange. In shape, it is roughly sparrow-like.
A robin, so much like the bird, yet large enough to destroy the whole image of a robin...
...the appearance of a monstrous bird that looks like it could be about 5 meters from end to end with its wings spread.
Such a monstrous bird was bathing in the fountain I had created.
It was not a bird, but a monstrous bird. Facing such a creature, I was frozen. No, I didn't know what to do.
But it seemed that the monster bird didn't know what to do either.
After meeting my eyes, it spread its wings... and flew away.
It was beautiful when it flew away. The color was beautiful, the shape was beautiful. The bright wings shone against the blue sky and looked magnificent.
I thought to myself, looking at it.
...I want to draw that.
The Picture Perfect Mochi I Drew Tastes Good
今日も絵に描いた餅が美味い
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-picture-perfect-mochi-i-drew-tastes-good/
Adventure Fantasy Shounen Slice of Life Supernatural
Adapted to Manga Artists Caring Protagonist Fantasy World Friendship Loner Protagonist Male Protagonist Mythical Beasts Naive Protagonist R-15 Selfless Protagonist Spirits Stubborn Protagonist Transmigration Transported to Another World Weak Protagonist
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7921gj/
もちもち物質