said goodbye to my oil painting teacher Lydia Miller today. she's returning to her home country Australia after a stay here of some two years with her very loving and wonderful husband. it was a touching moment indeed...

what struck me most as i wished her well and we mused over how quickly the two years have passed since she came to our artshop (rather by chance - as she likes to say - "i don't know why but i just thought i'll come in and i'm glad i did" :) ) was the sheer amount that has happened for her since then... she held no less than 5 exhibitions (three here, two in Sydney), painted more than 200 paintings (at least), transformed her style of painting from Western abstract style, to a more fusion style, and now one leaning definitely towards the exotic East. Through us, she taught no less than three scores of complete beginners (including myself) not just the art and technique of oil painting but also the love and appreciation of it... she also built a community of sorts with local-based oil artists, some of them through contacts from us... yet i was totally surprised that she thanked us profusely for our part in making all this happen.. and all i ever did was to approach her (two years ago as she was just "another customer" standing at the oil paints rack) to ask if she was interested in teaching and telling her that i was interested in setting up a course and learning from her if she did.. isn't that amazing? :) ... i'm glad i approached her.. i really am..

i realised how blessed i am to have met so many wonderfully remarkable and inspiring people in my short 27 years - many of whom have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of art, music, writing or whatever else they feel drawn towards.... people who have taken the "road-less-travelled" and given me the inspiration to do the same in my life... every single encounter a life-changing one in one way or other.. their passion shows through their sharing of what they do, their never-ending quest to make themselves even better, even though so many of them have already spent a good 15 to 20 years of their lives already being so amazingly good at what they do...

farewell and thanks Lydia!