C: Thomas Nakamura - Blog Posts

thomas-nakamura​:

“Not street art, no,” Thomas said. “My art’s confined to sketch books and loose pieces of paper. Illustrator, cartoonist, those are my job titles right now.”

He felt a buzz of his phone in his pocket and plucked it out. “Laurel,” he blew out a huff. “Remind me again why you put me in the roommates group chat. I don’t even live there.”

Laurel felt her back pocket vibrate in sync with the buzz that came from Thomas’s, she glanced at the message and giggled. Rory. “I can’t believe she’s mad that I won’t have sex with her.” She looked up and smiled sympathetically. “Thomas, you say that as if you’re not part of our little family. The moment you walked through those doors it’s like you signed a contract to be with us until the day you die.”

Laurel sighed. “I have any idea--what do you say about designing a business card of mine?”

thomas-nakamura​:

“Do you mean other than street artists?” Thomas asked. “Is it bad if I say I discover them all on Instagram? I follow Pace Taylor pretty closely. They graduated with a BFA a couple years before I did. And, uh…. Becca Klassey for simple paintings. Anisa Asakawa? I’m sorry. Does that make me not an authentic wanderer?”

“How does one define an authentic wanderer?” She mused, wiping away the pretzel salt on her lips with the back of her hand. “Have you created any street art?”

thomas-nakamura​:

“You know, if you spend more time walking around in a specific neighborhood, rather than relying on cars most of the time, you can actually stumble upon some pretty neat finds,” Thomas said, casually showing around a passerby. “Hole-in-the-wall restaurants, neat antique shops, you name it. You’d be surprised what kind of books you’d find in a no-name shop.”

“You’re really speaking my language,” Laurel muffled with a mouth full of soft pretzel. “I never would have seen this pretzel place next to the enchilada place if it wasn’t for you.” It was actually a lie--Laurel had been to that pretzel place plenty of time before this moment but she didn’t want Thomas to feel bad as a tour guide. When she first moved to the city, she explored Portland through every nook and cranny. It was rare that there was a hole-in-the-wall place she didn’t know about. “What about local artists? Are there ways you can stumble upon them by aimlessly wandering?”