The Gage Academy of Art challenged me to change. For seven hours every day in this Seattle art school, I studied classical portrait drawing followed by private tutoring in figure drawing each evening.
Then one day there, a stranger gave me a gift of words. After I ran into an elderly Chinese gentleman in the morning and again in the evening, he asked, “You were in class all day, and you are studying again in the evening?”
I answered, “Yes.”
“You will reach success because of your will,” he replied. “You are willing to work very hard.”
Although it has been a great opportunity to further my education, it will take a tremendous amount of commitment to sharpen my skills. Persistence pays. I hope to be a life-long learner. And I hope this stranger’s right.
My father had a very simple view of life; you don’t get anything for nothing. Everything has to be earned, through work, persistence and honesty. Grace Kelly
IMAGE: Study, Pamela Alderman, Charcoal on paper, 18 x 24 inches, 2016
