It rained in the morning in Karuizawa, but the rain eased off in the afternoon, so I went to the Karuizawa Hocchi Market to buy vegetables. The town was completely covered in fog, and all the cars that came and went had their headlights on even though it was daytime. It took about 15 minutes to get to the market by bus, and I saw many police officers and police vehicles from the window of the bus. The reason for this is that the “G7 Nagano Prefecture Karuizawa Foreign Ministers’ Meeting” will be held in Karuizawa from tomorrow until the 18th.

While waiting for the bus at the bus stop, I received news on my smartphone that an explosion had occurred during Prime Minister Kishida’s election speech in Wakayama, which made me feel a sense of urgency extending to Karuizawa.

After returning home, I tried different variations on different papers based on yesterday’s drawing. This kind of production method is proposed by Eric Ries as a theory of product development and idea thinking called “Lean Startup“. The word “prototype” appears in that theory. When I looked it up on the internet, I found that it is “the first model made as a rough outline for the work in anticipation of later improvements”.

As an example, I can think of Sony’s Walkman product from the 1980s, which was sold in prototype form. There were reviews such as “I wish it had this function”, “Isn’t it cheaper?”, “Isn’t it a little lighter?” and improvements were made accordingly. Apple’s iPhone followed a similar process.

There are also examples of this in art, such as Monet’s “Water Lilies” series.

Similar words include stereotypes (fixed ideas and preconceptions that are prevalent in many people) and monotypes (a printmaking technique in which an image drawn on a plate is transferred to paper by putting it on and applying pressure).

It seems that “types” and “patterns” are classifications of shapes and personalities, while “prototypes” are things that have common characteristics at the bottom of a certain kind of thing.

I’m interested in improvised drawing-like paintings presented as prototype, rather than paintings that are patterned. Drawing, which is the source of painting, is sure to fascinate people. Therefore, when I try to bring this drawing nature into painting, the boundary between painting and drawing becomes extremely vague.

I strongly feel the need to think about how to use paintings, drawings, and prints in my own way.