The Ink-Keeper's Apprentice by Allen Say Page A

Gogh fever, too. Tokida's been pestering me for three days. Maybe I ought to see the exhibit myself."
    "You really should, Sensei," said Tokida. "You really can't tell what the paintings are like by looking at reproductions. They have one of his palettes in a glass case. It's got paint all over it, so you can really see how he worked. I like it better than some of his paintings. You could tell he was mad."
    "His violence appeals to you," said Sensei. "You must like
Sesshu's late works then, the same kind of masculine staccato strokes. I know what you mean about the palette. I like to look at unfinished works of masters; they tell you more about the artists than the finished works. There's something human about them."
    "Do you like Degas?" I asked.
    "I had my Degas period. You're in good company, Kiyoi. Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, and me. Degas was strongly influenced by the invention of the camera. Next time look at the way he composed his canvases. You'll notice a lot of things going off the edges, like in a bad snapshot—something we cartoonists have since perfected."
    "I like his pastels and drawings better than his oils," said Tokida.
    I knew nothing about Degas's composition, though I understood that he was a great draftsman. As far as Tokida was concerned, van Gogh was
the
painter. Neither Sensei nor Tokida mentioned Degas's girl. I would keep her to myself.
    It was dark when we left the inn. It had stopped raining and the lights of the city reflected off the wet pavement. Sensei walked briskly as if he had a destination in mind. Maybe he's taking us to a cafe, I thought, even a bar. But it was an artists' supply shop he took us to, the largest I'd ever seen. There were more things there than I ever thought artists would need or use. Frames and statues and cheap prints hung on the walls. There were little collapsible easels, and the big studio easels that rolled on wheels, canvases that came in rolls and those that were already stretched, shelves and shelves of watercolors and oil paints, gouaches, papers, on and on and on.
    "This has to be the most wonderful place in Tokyo," said Sensei, bending down and looking into the glass display case. "Every time I come here I feel like a boy in a toy store."
    He was looking at the expensive English watercolors and French oil paints.
    "Isn't it Noro Shinpei?" asked the clerk behind the counter.
    "I'm afraid it is. I can't seem to stay away from your marvelous store."
    "It's a pleasure to have you, sir. We received a large shipment of bristol boards since I saw you."
    "I'm well supplied with those, thank you."
    "Is there something special you're looking for then?"
    "These oils here—I'd like two of everything."
    Tokida nudged me with his elbow.
    "Two of everything, sir?"
    "Yes, meet Tokida and Kiyoi, so-called disciples of mine, two aspiring painters."
    "This is indeed an honor." The clerk smiled at us. Tokida and I bowed to him.
    "Have you been painting long?"
    "They're only starting," answered Sensei. "What's a good brand these days?"
    "Of course the French make the best, but if the young gentlemen haven't worked much in oils I should think the domestic paints would be quite adequate, and not so expensive."
    "Then the domestic brand it is. Let me have two of these boxes, but if you don't mind I'd like to choose the colors myself. I also don't like the look of these brushes in the kit."
    "No problem, sir. This kit is for display purposes, though a lot of beginners prefer it with our special discount. But then you're entitled to our twenty percent professional discount, sir. I'll get the boxes from the back room while you make your selections."
    Tokida and I were speechless. We stared at the two walnut boxes the clerk brought out of the back room. Each had a metal lining inside, with compartments for brushes and paints and oil pots. Inside the cover was a folding palette with a thumb hole. Sensei called out the names of colors he wanted in the boxes, all English names that