(ENG) (I forgot to mention this in my recent article, but the images are my own creation.)
Come to think of it, I haven't seen any sunflowers this year. Sunflowers are a symbol of summer. My house has no balcony and the ground is covered with concrete, so I can't grow anything, let alone sunflowers, but even so, it's the middle of summer now, so it wouldn't be surprising to see them blooming here and there. When I look at the flowers blooming in my neighborhood, I see morning glories and impatiens, but no sunflowers. I enjoy looking at the flowers planted along the way when I go to the hospital, but I don’t recall seeing any sunflowers.
That was a long time ago, when I used to go out sketching all the time. I wanted to draw a sunflower field, so I looked up where there was one. A botanical garden would have been fine, but I wanted to draw a larger sunflower field. I found out that there was one in Mukou City, Kyoto Prefecture, so I decided to go there. However, I thought it would be too hot once the sun rose, so I left early in the morning and took the train.
When I arrived at the sunflower field, it was too early, and not all the flowers had bloomed yet. Sunflowers love the sun, after all. But there were so many of them that it was a spectacular sight. Since I didn't want to get too hot, I remember quickly sketching what I saw.
Later, when I was living in my previous home, I planted sunflowers. They grew quite large and bloomed beautifully, but they withered quickly, perhaps because they didn't get enough water. Still, I thought their withered form was beautiful and sketched them.
I don't know where those sunflower sketches are now. I might have thrown them away when I moved.
Perhaps it was because of the extreme heat and lack of rain this year? Or maybe it was just around my house? Maybe my memory has been affected by the heat? I'm sure they're blooming at the botanical garden, but I don't have the energy to go there now. It's such a pity to have a summer where it's just hot and I don’t see any sunflowers.
(JPN) (最近の記事では書くのを忘れていたが、画像は自作です)
そういえば、今年はヒマワリを見かけない。夏の象徴のような、ヒマワリ。地面をコンクリートで固められてベランダもなく、ヒマワリどころか何も育てられない我が家で見られないのは置いといて、今は真夏だからあちこちで咲いていてもおかしくないのだが。近所に咲いている花々を見てもアサガオやニチニチソウは見かけても、ヒマワリは見かけない。私は通院のついでにも植わっている花を見るのが楽しみなのだが、ヒマワリを見た覚えはない。
あれはだいぶ昔、年中スケッチに出かけまくっていた頃、ヒマワリ畑の絵を描きたいと思い、ヒマワリ畑の場所を調べた。植物園でもいいんだが、もう少し規模の大きいヒマワリ畑を描きたいと思った。そこで当時、京都府向日市にあると知り、出かけようと思った。しかし日があまり昇ると暑いと思い、早朝に出かけて電車に乗って行った。
ヒマワリ畑に着いたのがあまりにも早すぎて、すべての花が咲き揃っていなかった。ヒマワリは太陽が大好きだからだ。でもたくさん植えてあって壮観だった。暑いのは嫌なので、見たままをささっと描いた記憶がある。
その後、前の家に住んでいた時に、ヒマワリを植えた。かなり大きくなって立派な花を咲かせたが、水が足りなかったのかすぐ枯れた。でも枯れた姿も美しいと思ってスケッチした。
これらのヒマワリのスケッチは、今はどこへいったか分からない。引っ越しの時に捨ててしまったかもしれない。
今年は酷暑で雨が少なかったからだろうか？うちの周りだけだろうか？記憶が暑さにやられてしまったんだろうか？植物園ならきっと咲いているだろうけど、今は植物園に行く気力がない。暑いばかりでヒマワリの花を見かけない夏なんて残念なことこの上ない。