An artist, a doer
Titled Thinking of You, this artwork follows on from my previous piece, Bohemian. It depicts a dog separated from his owner.
Yet this piece stands alone and has a story of its own to tell. I dedicate it to anyone who misses a beloved pet…
Medium: Watercolour pencil on 250 gsm paper
Size: 21 x 29.7 cm
They say it’s better late than never. In my case, it’s better slow than never.
A while ago, someone asked me what kind of artist I aspire to be. I remember one of the words I chose was “prolific”. Over time, I realized my work takes time. From start to finish, there are multiple layers of marks before I sign off and file a piece away. So that word has gradually been replaced by “consistent” and “sustainable”.
It turns out I’m not only a slow artist, I am also a slow reader.
Here’s my bite-sized rhythm: just two pages a day, five days a week. Slowly but surely, I recently finished my ninth book from cover to cover. Think of compound interest: slow and steady. Now my tenth is following the same magical pace.
No exceptions? If I anticipate a no-reading day for whatever reason, I make sure I take a “cheat day” today by reading four pages instead. Why? I’d rather be one step ahead than one step behind. Playing catch-up is never a fun game.
They say leaders are readers. Maybe. In my corporate days, I would’ve loved having a fancy title, but I was not a reader then. Now, I love calling myself a reader. It’s a title I can have for life. It’s not given, it’s earned. There’s no sign of stopping. You don’t call it lifelong learning for nothing…
Ted Tsai 