7 The Power of the Pencil and the Artist Who Wields It

7 The Power of the Pencil and the Artist Who Wields It Peanut opened her eyes. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was, but when she saw Little-Bit fast asleep on one of the submarine's metal benches curled up next to a snoring rat, it all came flooding back. After Woodhouse's story, they'd barely been able to keep their eyes open and had all fallen asleep. Even 67 had powered down. Dad, meanwhile, had continued to drive the submarine through the night. Peanut rose quietly, walked to the front of the submarine and hooked her arm through the crook of her dad's. She rested her head on his shoulder and he patted it gently like he always used to do.

7 铅笔的力量与握笔的艺术家 皮娜睁开了眼睛。 过了好几秒她才反应过来自己在哪儿，可当她看见小不点蜷在潜艇的金属长椅上呼呼大睡，旁边挨着一只打呼的老鼠，所有事情一下子都涌上心头。 听完伍德豪斯的故事，他们都困得睁不开眼，很快就全都睡着了。 就连67也关机休眠了。 与此同时，爸爸整晚都在开着潜艇前进。 皮娜悄悄起身，走到潜艇前部，挽住了爸爸的胳膊。 她把头靠在爸爸肩膀上，爸爸像往常一样轻轻拍了拍她的肩。

"How long have we been going for?" she asked. "My watch is broken." "About six hours, I think," he said, pushing the periscope away and looking at his daughter. "Only a few more to go. Can't sleep?" She smiled. "Not anymore. I'd like to, but my brain has other ideas. It has a lot to process, I guess." "That is true enough," he replied. "Well, seeing as you're here, would you like to have a go at driving?" Dad stood up and Peanut took his place in the box seat, pulling the periscope's eyepiece towards her. To her surprise, she could see the gently rippling surface of the water, fluorescent with pinks, oranges and yellows. It was as if she were flying just above it. The colourful liquid provided a stark contrast to the cold, grey steel of the cleaning channel's walls and ceiling. "Dad, you were going to tell me why we have to go to the Green Valleys," said Peanut, quietly so as not to wake the others. "I mean, why couldn't I have just drawn another door with Little Tail back in the cleaning station when we first arrived?" "It's a great question," said Dad, cand one I wouldn't have been able to provide a satisfactory answer to a few months ago. But, fortunately, I can now." "Did you read something in one of your history books, then?" "I did indeed. In The Power of the Pencil and the Artist Who

“我们走了多久啦？”她问道。 “我的手表坏了。” “我想想，大概六个小时了吧，”他说着推开潜望镜，看向女儿。 “再过几个小时就到了。 睡不着吗？” 她笑了笑。 “本来睡着的， 我也想继续睡，可脑子停不下来， 我猜，它有太多事情要消化了。” “说得没错，”爸爸答道。 “既然你醒着过来了，要不要来试试开潜艇？” 爸爸站起身，皮娜坐到驾驶位上，把潜望镜的目镜拉到自己面前。 令她惊讶的是，她能看到轻轻泛起涟漪的水面，泛着粉、橙、黄三色的荧光。 感觉就像她正贴着水面飞行一样。 这色彩斑斓的水流，和清洁通道冰冷灰蒙的钢铁墙顶形成了鲜明对比。 “爸爸，你之前说要告诉我我们为什么非要去绿谷，”皮娜轻声说，怕吵醒其他人。 “我是说，为什么我们刚到的时候，我不能跟着小尾巴在清洁站再画一扇门呢？” “这是个好问题，”爸爸说，“放在几个月前，我也给不出你满意的答案。 不过幸运的是，我现在可以了。” “那你是从哪本历史书里读到的吗？” “没错，我确实找到了。 它就写在《铅笔的力量与握笔的艺术家

Wields it by Tobermory Sketch. Nearly two hundred years old, but reads like it was written yesterday. "What did it say?" "Well, Mr Sketch believes that whenever someone is creating something— a painting, a sculpture, a print, or even just a quick doodle— they can't help but put a bit of themselves into that piece of art. That's why, he says, everybody's drawings are totally unique. You and I could sit here and draw a picture of the same apple, using exactly the same materials, but our drawings would end up looking totally different. "Yes, I've always thought that too," said Peanut. "It's one of the things I love most about art. Just by taking something that you see or feel inside, and putting it down onto canvas or paper, you are revealing a piece of your soul. Everyone is different. And there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to drawing."

握笔》，作者托伯莫里·斯凯奇。 这本书已经写成近两百年了，可读起来却像昨天才写的一样。 “它说了些什么呀？” “你看，斯凯奇先生认为，不管是谁创作东西——一幅画、一座雕塑、一幅版画，哪怕只是随手画的小涂鸦——都忍不住会把自己的一部分放进这件作品里。 他说，这就是为什么每个人的画都是独一无二的。 你和我坐在这儿画同一个苹果，用一模一样的材料，最后画出来的样子也会完全不一样。 “对呀，我一直也这么想，”皮娜说。 这就是我最爱艺术的一点呀。 只要把你看到的、心底感受到的东西画到画布或者纸上，你就是在展现自己灵魂的一部分。 每个人都是不一样的。 而画画这件事，本来就没有对错之分。”

"Exactly, my little artist," said Dad, squeezing Peanut's shoulder. "And Mr Sketch takes this idea further. He says that the place where you create your art can also influence it. Which is, I guess, why it's often better to paint or draw from life than it is to copy a photo. Think about it. When you're standing in a gallery looking at Monet's painting of water lilies, you can almost feel that cool Normandy breeze on your face as it comes in from the Seine. You can smell the peonies. You can hear the gentle lapping of the water. Not only is there a piece of Monet himself in that painting, but there is also

“没错呀，我的小艺术家，”爸爸说着，轻轻捏了捏皮娜的肩膀。 而且斯凯奇先生还把这个想法延伸了一步。 他说，创作艺术的地点也会影响作品本身。 我想，这就是为什么对着实物写生往往比临摹照片更好的原因。 你想想看。 当你站在美术馆看莫奈的睡莲，你几乎能感觉到塞纳河吹来的诺曼底凉风吹在脸上。 你能闻到牡丹的香气。 你能听到水波轻轻拍打的声音。 这幅画里不仅藏着一部分莫奈自己，还藏着

a piece of the place where he painted it— his home, Giverny." "But what's that got to do with the Green Valleys?" Dad looked back down the length of the submarine. Little-Bit, Rockwell and Woodhouse were still fast asleep; 67 was upright, but in energy-saving mode. Their eyes were dark. "Peanut, did you ever wonder why the very first door you drew with Little Tail, the one in your bedroom, led you to Chroma? Did you ever ask yourself why it didn't take you somewhere else? Anywhere else? You had a whole planet's worth of possible destinations, after all."

他创作这幅画的地方的一部分——也就是他的家，吉维尼。” “可是这和绿谷有什么关系呢？” 爸爸回头往潜艇深处望去。 小不点、罗克韦尔和伍德豪斯还在酣睡；67直挺挺立着，不过处于节能模式。 它的眼睛暗着没有亮。 “皮娜，你有没有好奇过，你和小尾巴画的第一扇门，就是卧室那扇，为什么偏偏带你到了克罗马？ 你有没有问过自己，它为什么没带你去别的地方？ 随便别的什么地方？ 毕竟，一整个星球都有可能是你的目的地呀。”

"I— er— Well, no," stammered Peanut. "I guess I haven't thought about it before." "Why would you?" said Dad. "Some things just work. And when they just work, there's no need to question them. But, I think, if you were to delve a bit deeper, you'd find that it brought you to Chroma because, on some level, you wanted to come to Chroma. Even though you didn't know that it existed. It's where I was and you wanted to find me. That— coupled with the fact that you drew the door inside the house I once lived in, with the pencil I gave you is the reason it took you to Chroma. It was the same deal when you drew the handle on the Post-it note door. You made that door lead to where I was. The power of the pencil and the artist who wields it. There is a connection there." "Hang on," said Peanut, confused. Are you saying that I need to draw the door in the Green Valleys, and not somewhere else, in order for it to take us to Mum in Milan?" "Look, I'm not certain," admitted Dad, "but the area of Chroma that has the most connection to Milan is the Green Valleys. That is our Renaissance district. According to the books, so many famous artists from that period have, in the past, made their temporary home in the Valleys. And don't forget, Milan is widely considered to be the birthplace of the Renaissance movement. "But... but... what if it doesn't work?"

“我……呃……嗯，没有。”花生结结巴巴地说。 “我之前从来没想过这个问题。” “你哪会想到这个呀。”爸爸说道。 有些东西本来就自然而然地正常运转。 既然它们运转得好好的，就没必要去质疑啦。 不过我觉得，如果你往深一点想，就会发现你之所以来到克罗马，从某种程度上说，是因为你本来就想来这里。 哪怕你之前根本不知道它的存在。 我就在这里，而你想要找到我。 再加上你用我给你的铅笔，在我曾经住过的房子里画了那扇门，这就是那扇门把你带到克罗马的原因。 你给便利贴门上画把手也是同一个道理。 是你让那扇门通向了我所在的地方。 这就是铅笔和握笔画家的力量。 它们之间早就有联结啦。” “等等。”花生一脸困惑地说。 你是说，要想让门带我们去米兰找妈妈，我就得在绿山谷画门，不能在别的地方画对吗？ “你看，我也不确定。”爸爸承认道，“不过克罗马里和米兰联系最深的地方就是绿山谷。 那里是我们的文艺复兴区。 书上记载，那个时期的许多著名艺术家过去都曾在绿山谷暂住。 而且别忘了，人们普遍认为米兰是文艺复兴运动的发源地呀。 “可……可……要是它不管用怎么办呀？”