I came home from holiday one day after a successful semester and and session. I saw one of JW’s tract around the house, on the it’s cover page was an image of a seedling captioned; ‘Dey Patient’. 

The cover somehow captured my attention and after some days eventually inspired me to do this painting which I call ‘Potential’. It’s the seedling on the tract’s cover I painted and it was the only painting I did that throughout that holiday.

What does the future holds for a young plant of that stage? The young plant as a seedling is full of potential which is unknown, but can however, be decided. The seedling can be taken care of, fertilised and properly treated and with time and ‘patience’ grow to become a big tree which can be of great use to humanity. The plant can also be ignored, treated badly or intentionally killed thereby, tarnishing the good potential it could manifest in the future. What the future holds for it not really known but the actions taken towards it could either help foster a great potential or hinder it.

What does this mean to us?

Young children we see, have different potentials that can help the development of humanity in the future. These potentials can be fostered by supporting their dreams and talents, providing them with every necessary tuition, equipment and whatsoever it will take to bring the best out of them. The potentials could also be tarnished when the child’s dreams, talents and needs are ignored or even antagonised. It is the actions we take that makes the difference.

A person also have the choice to pursue his dream with all passion, consistency and sacrifice it could take and eventually actualise his potential. He can also play lazy, make excuses and sit and watch others do it. The Choice and the outcome is his. So much potential many youth out there throw away, giving it all up for laziness or small, momentary pleasure that the present offers them. Zig Ziglar once said “When you catch a glimpse of your potential, that’s when passion is born”. Aristotle also said, “patience is bitter but it’s fruit is sweet”. Patience has a lot to do in achieving dreams because as I mentioned earlier, the reference image of this painting was captioned ‘Dey Patient’.

This artwork is to remind us to care for the young ones around us, attend to their needs, and contribute to the development of their talents and dreams.

Painted with Acrylic paints on Paper,

12 inches

by 15 inches.