ー Looking back on the 21 years of painting, including this exhibition, what kind of illustrator do you think you are?

Nakamura: I feel like I've been working hard all the time. I think you're drawing carefully from the first Ajikan jacket. Now, if you look at it, there are certainly things that show and convey the picture are still poor. I don't think it's very nostalgic (past works). I think I should have done this a little more, so I'm satisfied each time. I can see my own commitment that I haven't noticed all the time. I want to praise myself.

ーThe profile girl's series is the amount of information that looks like a kaleidoscope. The composition and precision are consistent.

Nakamura: Oh, yes. At this venue, there are a lot of work in my past. For example, in a gala, there are various things from 5,000 yen to 500,000 yen. All of them are consistent, regardless of the gala. I've been working hard all the time.

What is the reason why you can continue to do your best?

Nakamura: It's a grudge (laughs). When I was in elementary school, my classmates said, "Nakamura-kun, draw a picture," but when I was a junior and senior high school student, I treated them as "I'm thrilled to draw a picture alone!" The baseball club was awarded in the morning ceremony just after going to the district qualifying, but I was awarded the first prize in the prefecture's poster contest, but I couldn't touch anything. That grudge (laughs). It will be an engine that draws pictures until the grudge dies.

Is the driving force still "grudge"?

Nakamura: I think it's better to have it now. Also, the person who draws pictures feels like there is no sociality. It can be said that I was able to put it into the picture because there is no sociality, but I've always felt the complex there. During breaks, when everyone was playing dodgeballs, I was painting by myself. You won't be invited to an art university, a couple or a barbecue. What should I do when I get a job? I didn't know.

In the meantime, painting was also a means of connecting to society.

Nakamura: That's right. It's good to live that you have a painting job and are connected to society, right? It's also a confirmation. I'm glad that there is a need and that I'm really hooked on society. That's why I'm happy to be able to exhibit at PARCO in Shinsaibashi, where there are so many people.

ーーYou've accumulated this much work and still think about that, right?

Nakamura: That's the same way to connect with society, and there are a handful of illustrators who I saw when I was little and are still active in the same way. In the world of illustrations, both the drawing side and the viewing side are in their 20s and 30s, and I feel that it is a culture with a short life. Considering that, I was attracted to attention from a relatively early time, and I thought, "This is a course that I will surely get tired of in five years!" That's why I've been thinking a lot about it. Among them, it is fundamental to draw hard, but it is absolutely important.