Page 45 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE Vol 3

But if it’s just not worth it to fix them then it’s better to leave it. Lots of painters don’t like watercolours because they’re difficult to fix when things go wrong. But that’s not true for me. You just have to know some techniques. And don’t be afraid to fix it thinking you might mess the painting up.“I remember one day last year at a coffee shop in front of my house, there were two girls trying to paint something. They were saying to each other ‘You’re messing it up!’ so I got up and had a look at what they were painting. It was a watercolour of a flower. I offered to help them fix it, putting in some water and mixing in other colours. They were really happy. I wouldn’t have touched it if it wasn’t a watercolour. They came back thenext day asking to see me. I told them we always learn lessons from mistakes. It’s important not to be rigid and restricted, fixing yourself to rules because that destroys creativity. We’ll never go anywhere if we think inside the box, or are afraid of criticism and punishment.”Thida used to feel upset by criticism but has learned it is just that people see and interpret things differently. She did not have to change herself for others but to respect herself and others. She also left me with a philosophical thought learned from painting.“To start it is the most difficult part. Finishing is the easiest part. Some people just can’t be inspired to start a painting at all, some give up a little after they start because the paintinglooks wrong. For me, I’ll continue but will just change it into something totally different. Once it starts to take shape, things flow afterwards. It’s like trying to get somewhere you don’t know, you might get lost at first, but once the destination becomes clear, you speed up. Finishing off a painting is the most fun part for me.”Life and painting are continuous processes that help us grow. I am thankful for the life philosophy Thida shared with me that afternoon. After all, we are all still learning our lessons on how to paint our life.‘You might get lost at first, but once the destination becomes clear, you speed up’Elite+ 43