絵の描けない画家

彼女は画家である。が誰が見ても分かるくらい絵が下手な画家である。

そんな彼女は、子供の頃から画家になるのが夢というより画家になる以外考えなかった。 当然のように美大を受験した彼女はこれまた当然のように落ちた。 デッサンなど生まれてからしたことも無くそのことに彼女はなんの疑問も持っていなかった。 大学に落ちたのも彼女の芸術を大学側が理解できなかったからだろう。 本気で彼女はそう思っていた。

彼女はその後すぐに今まで描きためた絵で個展を開くことにした。 大学に通えないなら直ぐにプロデビューしよう。 思い立ったら行動は早い、バイトで貯めたお金で貸画廊を借りて個展を開いた。

そこにある画廊のオーナーが通り掛かる。 飾ってある絵を見てオーナーは思った。

何て下手な絵なんだ…。

値段を見ても正気の沙汰とは思えない、どうやら若い画家らしい早いうちに気付いた方がいい、普段はこんな事しないが指摘してやるのも先達の努めだろう。 オーナーは中に入り画家を探した。 どうやら若い女性らしい、オーナーが声をかけると女性は、泣いた。

どうやらバイト代をつぎ込んで個展を開いたが、誰も見てくれず不安だっようだ。

オーナーが話をする前に彼女は、堰を切ったように話し始めた。 自分がなぜ画家になりたいのか、作品の意味や表現について彼女は熱心にそして楽しそうに語った。 オーナーはあまりに熱心で楽しそうな彼女に当てられたのか、自分も芸術についての考え方を話し始めた。

いつぶりだろうかこんなに純粋に芸術についての語っているのは…。

気付くと画廊の経営やこれからは絵画以外も扱うべきか、はては人生相談の様なものまでしている自分に気付く。

オーナーは当初考えていた彼女への指摘はやめた。　

彼女は彼女のままでいい。

自分の画廊で彼女の作品を扱うことにしたオーナーは、懇意にしてるコレクターに彼女を合わせた、あまりにも下手な絵を描く画家にコレクターは不可解に思ったが、話してみるとやはり彼女の芸術に対する情熱に当てられた。

自分の人生相談までしているコレクターにオーナーは自分と同じことになったと笑った。

コレクターは最初の彼女のファンになった。

その後も人に合うたび彼女のファンは増えていき、彼女の下手な絵は彼女のファンが買いそのファンたちに愛されている。

彼女は画家として食べて行けるようになり不満はないが、疑問に思うことがある。

「どうしてみんなあたしに人生相談するの？」

人の話を聞くのは嫌いではないむしろ好きである、ただふと思った素朴な疑問である。

She is a painter. She is a painter, but a painter who is so bad at painting that anyone can see it.

She has dreamed of becoming a painter since she was a child, or rather, she never thought of anything else but becoming a painter. As a matter of course, she took the entrance exam to an art college, and as a matter of course, she failed. She hadn't done any sketching since she was born, and she didn't have any doubts about that. The reason she failed was probably because the university did not understand her art. That's what she really thought.

She decided to have a solo exhibition of her paintings soon after. If she couldn't go to college, she would make her professional debut right away. With the money she had saved from her part-time job, she rented a gallery and held a solo exhibition.

The owner of the gallery came by. When he saw the paintings on display, the owner thought, "What a poorly done painting.

What a poorly done painting....

The price of the painting was insane. It seemed to be a young painter, and he should have noticed it earlier. The owner went inside and looked for the painter. It seemed to be a young woman, and when the owner approached her, the woman cried.

Apparently, she had spent all her part-time money to hold a solo exhibition, but was worried that no one would see it.

Before the owner could talk to her, she began to speak as if she had burst into tears. She talked enthusiastically and happily about why she wanted to be a painter, the meaning and expression of her work. The owner, perhaps taken by her enthusiasm and joy, began to share his own thoughts on art.

It was the first time in a long time that I was genuinely talking about art.

I found myself talking about running an art gallery, whether I should handle more than just paintings from now on, and even discussing my life.

The owner stopped pointing out to her what he had initially thought.　

She is fine the way she is.

The owner decided to sell her work in his gallery and matched her with a collector he knew well. The collector was puzzled by the painter's ineptitude, but when he talked to her, he was struck by her passion for art.

The owner laughed at the fact that the collector even asked her for advice about her life, which was the same thing that happened to him.

The collector became her first fan.

Her fan base continued to grow as she met more and more people, and her poor paintings were bought by her fans and loved by them.

She is now able to make a living as a painter and is not dissatisfied, but she has a question.

Why do people come to me for advice?

I don't mind listening to people's stories, in fact, I love it, but it was just a simple question that occurred to me.