Encounters in the Little Room / 小房間裡的相遇

每年到了這個時候，我總是特別想念海洋，好像是因為從春末要進入夏季了，我的心溫度攀高，因應著季節的變化騷動著，情感特別地不安份，對於許多人事物的懷舊感觸，如波濤般地湧上心頭，有時強烈到我內斂的個性都無法駕馭。還好，我還坐得下來，靜靜地繪畫，把我的思念畫成一張又一張的明信片。

Every year at this time, I miss the ocean terribly. With the seasonal transition from spring to summer, the temperature of my heart rises abruptly, churning wildly in response to the change of nature. My feelings dance, unwilling to stop. I feel nostalgic about people I met and stories that happened in the past. The emotion is so overwhelming that even my reserved and calm nature can barely tame it. Luckily, I can still sit down and paint quietly, with a little bit of self-hypnosis. I thus turn the images in my dream into postcards.

兩週前才從熱情四溢的墾丁回來，卻不停地想著蔚藍大海，我以為那樣的思念來自於對現實生活的缺乏期待，生活四周也只有我嚷嚷著要去海邊，不過我一向知道自己和別人不太一樣。前幾天就在我即將枯萎之際，辦公室來了兩名興奮的年輕人─我就稱他們為「寫生雙拍檔」，因為學校畫展之故，我們發現雙方的共同嗜好，也就是畫畫，自此之後，我們就有聊不完的話題，還互相督促，相約下次見面時檢查間賞析彼此的作品。

Though I just took a trip to the hot Kenting in South Taiwan, I couldn't cease missing the azure sea. Somehow I had the feeling that it reflected my lack of expectation toward the boring daily life. I seemed to be the only person with such a strong longing. Well, I'd always known that I was kind of different from others. A few days ago, right when I was about to wither, two young men from an English magazine we subscribed to came into the office. I'll call them "Sketch II Men" here. Because of my exhibition at school, we had discovered our shared interest in painting. Since then, we have had tons of subjects to chat about. We even made a promise to supervise and examine each other's artworks next time we met.

「好想去海邊啊！」雙拍檔之小白大呼著，我睜大眼睛地看著他，心有戚戚焉地回答我也是，原來「寫生雙人組」夏季時便結伴去寫生，儘管烈日當頭，汗如雨下，路人指指點點，這兩名率性的青年依舊灑脫地在戶外塗塗抹抹，相較於他們，嬌滴滴的我坐在室內，吹著電風扇，我想我一定錯過了許多大自然的奇異變化和美麗。

"How I'd love to go to the sea!" Whitey of Sketch II Men exclaimed. I stared at him in astonishment, and replied "me too" with so much understanding. Sketch II Men often went out for sketches in summer. Despite the sweltering sun, despite the crazy sweats, despite the gossipy passers-by, they still had a superb time painting outdoors. Compared with them, I paint like a princess, sitting indoors with the electric fans surrounding me. I must have missed many wonderful and beautiful miracles of nature…

我們越聊越起勁，辦公室裡充滿我們吵鬧的聲音，不久下課鐘響了，不久午飯時間就這麼飛逝而過，他們離開之後，我居然回想不起來之前沒有精神的原因。最近勤讀各式各樣的插畫家介紹，幾乎所有的人都認為創作是很寂寞的一條路，大部分時間要和自己獨處。我常和自己獨處，是因為個性使然，可是即使我坐在小房間裡，還是有許許多多的天使從我的窗口飛過，敲我的門，我的幸福無法言喻‧‧‧

With time passing, we got more and more excited in our talk about art, traveling, and life. The office was filled with our noisy voices. Before long the bell rang. Before long the noon break was over. After they left, I couldn't remember anymore why I was so fatigued.

I've been reading introduction on many excellent illustrators lately. Almost everyone considers this profession to be a long lonely journey. Most of the time, the creators have to be with themselves. I often spend time with myself and that derives largely from my personalities. Yet even when I sit in my little room, still, many angels fly by the windows and come knock at the door, saying hello to me in all sorts of ways. My good luck is really beyond words...

謝謝貝琳、寫生雙拍檔、即將成為寫生雙拍檔之成員Jason、還有一直默默地愛著我的所有人。

Sincere thanks to Beiling, Sketch II Men, Jason, who is about to be the third member of Sketch II Men, and those who never stop loving me...