THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH ONE STEP. BO'S STORY. 千裏之行，始於足下。林保辛的故事

THERE'S A PATH AND DEVIATING FROM IT ISN'T REALLY AN OPTION

​有壹條路，偏離它並不是真正的選擇。

There’s nothing more frustrating than knowing what you want to be and having your environment stand in the way. That was the problem that I faced while trying to become an artist in Hong Kong,

where both the art scene and the education system doesn’t give you much freedom to explore your own ideas.

使人更為低落的是你知道你想要成為什麽樣的人但你所在的環境成為你的阻撓。這是我在香港期間嘗試去成為壹名藝術家時面臨的問題，

這裏的藝術舞臺和教育系統沒有給你很大的自由去探索你的想法。

BO SUN LAM - BA (HONS) & MA ILLUSTRATION

林保辛 - 榮譽學士 & 碩士學位 插畫

I knew from a young age that to follow my dream of becoming an artist I would need to move somewhere like the UK, where creativity and individuality are celebrated.

So after finishing a pretty rigid art and design A-Level ( General Certificate of Education Advanced Level ) in Hong Kong,

I researched English universities and was instantly sold on University of Portsmouth’s illustration department.

​我從小就知道，追隨自己的夢想成為壹名藝術家我需要移步到壹些地方，

英國，這裏贊頌創造力和個性。

因此，在香港完成了非常嚴格的藝術設計 A-Level ( 英國高中課程 ) 後，

我研究了英國的大學並立即熱衷於樸茨茅斯大學的插畫學部。

The BA course had so much to offer. What really stood out was how they mixed creativity with the business of art. Alongside honing my talents as an illustrator the University also taught students about how to be a professional; how to promote yourself, how to approach agencies, how to pitch and so on. Because it’s all well and good having incredible work, but if you can’t find a client to pay for it then where’s your career going?

​學士課程給與了很多，真正引人註目的是

他們如何將創造力與藝術事業結合。 磨練我作為插畫家的才能以外，大學同時教育學生如何成為專業人士；

如何提升自己，如何接近代理商，如何定位等等。 因為壹切都很好而且有不可思議的工作，

但如果沒有找到客戶為它作出支付，

那麼妳的職業生涯會是怎樣？

​

While coming to the UK to be an artist had long been my dream,

making the trip was still a big choice.

When I first arrived my English wasn’t great and I couldn’t understand strong regional accents.

But people were kind to me and the University even had international officers to help with little things like that,

and after a few months I felt like a local.

雖然到英國成為壹名藝術家是我長久以來的夢想， 但開始這趟旅行仍然是壹個很大的選擇。 剛到達時，較難理解這裏強烈的區域口音 ( 方言 ) 。 但是人們對我很友善，這裏甚至有國際官員幫助處理這樣的小事， 幾個月之後我感覺就像壹個當地人。

I had such a good experience on the BA course that I decided to stay and study for a Masters.

I loved living in Portsmouth and the opportunity to spend a year learning to become even more of a professional was too good to pass up.

It was a good decision because during that year I was able to publish my own illustration book as part of the course, which amazingly sold out in Hong Kong and helped make my name.

在學士課程裏我獲得了很好的經驗，所以我決定留下來攻讀碩士課程。 我喜歡居住在樸茨茅斯， 壹年時間的學習可以讓我更專業，很好的機會，不能放棄。 這是壹個很好的決定，

那壹年我能夠將自己的插圖讀物作為課程的壹部分出版， 這本書在香港銷售壹空，並讓更多人知道我。

Since graduating I’ve moved back East,

as I want to share my experience of UK thinking with the next generation of artists. Now I split my time between working as a freelance artist and teaching at an international arts centre, where I’ve brought a little bit of Portsmouth with me.

結束學業後我回到東方之珠 ( 香港美稱 ) ， 因為我想與下壹代藝術家分享我對英國思維的經驗。 現在我把時間分配在自由藝術家和國際藝術中心的教學當中， 在那裏我帶來了壹點樸茨茅斯。

My life used to be great in the UK!

Wake up for golf, have a nice brunch, draw for the whole afternoon, stay gym in the evening, cook himself a healthy dinner, play violin, and read a good book before sleep?

生活在英國時很好。

早晨醒來後打高爾夫球，擁有美好的早午餐，整個下午畫畫，傍晚健身，

為自己烹飪健康的晚餐，拉小提琴，入眠前讀壹本好書。

However, Hong Kong is another game, Even the richest HongKongese Mr.Lee worked till 90 years old. Hong Kong is just a place that you need to work so so so hard "by yourself" to build up your reputation, in order to make people "respect" you.

可是，香港是另壹種生活方式，

即使是富人李嘉誠先生也壹直工作至90歲。

​香港是壹個你需要让自己很 很 很努力的工作去建立你的名望的地方， 只是為了讓人們"尊重" 你。

People who understand that will understand me anyway. Isn't it?

I'm just trying my best to build up something meaningful in my life.

無論如何，理解這壹點的人會理解我。 不是嗎？ 我只是盡力在我的生活裏建立壹些有意義的事情。

THE ORIGINAL VERSION @ UNIVERSITY of PORTSMOUTH