A New Found Passion

          It's awesome to have a passion in life. It provides refuge when the sun isn't shining as brightly. It brings sanity and balance when life gets too crazy.

          I was on my way to start a new life in a new place. My new hobby didn't exactly start in the new place. I was somewhere in the air and looking at the flight status screen, we were at the altitude of 10973m above Bratislava.

          So, my passion started somewhere in the air, on 30 April 2012. I simply picked up a pen and started sketching in my journal by looking at a picture of the Colosseum in a travel magazine. If I had started "properly" (on the ground rather than in the air), I might have chosen a pencil. Just so I could erase if I didn't like what I drew. But I only had a pen. After that first attempt, I decided I like it well enough to keep on trying and it was not too bad for a first attempt - at least I could make it out as The Colosseum in Rome. I even attempted a little signature, incorporating my Chinese and English name in it.

     

         I wanted to appreciate the beautiful architecture of Florence properly. By properly, I didn't just want to snap a picture and walk away. I wanted to spend a good amount of time, admiring every detail in the architecture. Every carving, every inlay, every fresco.

          This passion does not require much money or resources. I just need a pen and a piece of paper. A pair of eyes to sketch what I observe and lots of patience. I guess when you love to do something very much, that part sorts of cancel out as time fly by when you are having a good time.

           I became rather obsessed in the beginning, bringing a notebook with me everywhere I went around in Florence and looking out for a scene or a building I can sketch.