It’s Okay to be Slow
“It is like a part of you that you are not consciously aware of is expressing itself through your feelings... out into a piece of art”
I find that a remarkable thing happens in my art making. Often, I will get an idea to paint a particular piece seemingly out of nowhere. It is an idea that creates a spark of interest, and my mind thinks “That would be a cool picture.” The idea lingers in my mind if I don’t try to execute it right away. Sometimes it stays there for months… sometimes years. However, the truly impressive part is that, when I sit down to create the piece, at some point during the process I can begin to realise that it profoundly correlates to something I have experienced or am experiencing in my life.
It is like a part of you that you are not consciously aware of is expressing itself through your feelings, emotional and bodily, and out into a piece of art. Meanwhile, the mind can’t really grasp the fullness of what is going on! It’s not like your mind thinks “Ah yes, I feel like painting a grand mountain range because I have a deep longing to reach my highest potential as a human being.” Rather, you would more likely think “Man, mountains look pretty hardcore. I want to paint some.”
It’s quite magic, really.
And with that, I come to this painting of the Tortoise and the Hare. A classic short story. I wonder if kids are still being taught it…
During the making of this piece, I experienced what I have described. The idea to make this painting came out of nowhere. I had not heard the story for a while, but suddenly, randomly, it came into my mind and I wanted to paint it. I thought “Cool, I like painting animals. This will be fun.” That was that.
“It’s okay to be slow.”
As the piece progressed, I started to think more deeply about the story and connect some dots. For me, I came to realise this:
It is okay to be slow.
In the West, we generally live in such a way that we do everything as quickly as possible. More speed, more output, more progress. This is the mindset I have been living in. It definitely makes you miss out on living in the present and enjoying what you are doing in the pursuit of getting more done.
I have often felt like I needed to be quicker at making art. I would see other people putting out work a lot faster than me, so I felt that I needed to make mine faster. This would create pressure and cause me to miss out on the enjoyment of art-making itself. I felt like I needed to hurry and finish the piece I was working on so I could move onto the next and make as much art as possible.
Now, I think it’s better for me to be a tortoise and be content taking my time creating. Let it be slow, slower than other people and slower than I would like. At least I get to be present in the moment, give the craft careful attention and enjoy it. The funny thing is that, when I allow myself to take my time, I make more art anyway!
This concept applies to every other aspect of life as well, I believe. It could be work, socializing, gym, sport, hobbies, cooking, cleaning, family time, travelling, etc. If we slow down and allow ourselves to be present in the moment, not rushing to get to the next thing, we could get so much more value out of life and still achieve goals. Wouldn’t it be better to get less done but to have enjoyment rather than to achieve a mountain of things and have it feel empty?
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This piece has more of a rough, painterly style than my normal work. I used a particular textured brush for the entire piece, which was something I had not done before. It was fun, though! I have to say, I really love how the tortoise’s expression came out. I can’t help but chuckle when I look at it! Doesn’t he just look like the sweetest thing?
I didn’t have a song in mind for this one, but if I come up with something then I will add it in.
See you in the next one.
