Tortoise and hare

The tortoise and hare story is one which we have read and heard in our childhood. The story has a great meaning but in that age it’s just a story which we listen for the purpose of entertainment. By the time we grow up and when we actually need that lesson in our life, it is already in the back burner and seldom comes to our mind.

Once I decided to learn painting. Though in childhood I used to paint a lot but with growing age I kind of stopped it due to pressure of study and other commitments. But again I wanted to start my old passion in a new way. So I joined a painting class. We were 5 students in a class. On the second day one of the students asked the master that what it takes to transform from an amateur painter to a professional painter. This question was in everyone’s mind but no one was asking it fearing being ridiculed in the second session only. We sat at the end of the chair and looked at the master expecting for an answer, as if the secret of grandmas recipe was about to be revealed. The master said in a flat note that you require a pen, pencil and paint to transform from an amateur to a professional painter. It was like an anti climax.

The master said that the novice and the professional painter require the same things, the same tools but what differentiates is the level of commitment and practice. It is applicable in all fields of professional art and skill.

Last year I went to a hill station named Darjeeling. I saw so many tourists walking with DSLR cameras hanging from their neck, with a wide variety of lenses. I thought they must be all professional photographers. I talked to a few about their cameras as I also wanted to buy one seeing them. To my surprise I found that most of them are clicking in auto mode. That means there is practically no use of the hundreds of setting those lenses offer. They were using it just like the aim and shoot camera. These people have just got the tools but have not invested time in learning the art.

We do this all the time in our life. We cut corners to learn something deeply. We are in a hurry to be an expert and we want to make progress as soon as possible. We don’t feel good to be left behind because we think that we will be happier once we reach the goal. In this fast paced life we want a fast paced positive feedback in whatever we are doing. Then we would jump to the next thing. But this attitude makes us only jump around and results in wastage of time and energy without any fruitful result. And after that we crib that I learnt so many things but could not achieve anything in life.

After hearing from the master about the secret recipe to become a professional painter I read a lot about the life of famous painters and saw videos also. I learnt a few things:

• There is no shortcut

• You have to give commitment and time

• Learn more about the basics of the tools

• make mistakes and learn from it

• Think about concepts to paint

• Practice and practice and practice

• diversify your practice

• Don’t get de-motivated

• enjoy the process and think less about the end result

• Learn from people who are better than you.

In short be like a tortoise when you are trying to learn a skill and want to reach a desired level in it. Being like a hare will only give you short term gain.