Contemporary Abstract & Mixed Media · square

The Doer's Window - Turquoise Chinese Proverb

A square artwork with a glowing turquoise oval in the center, filled with mottled aqua and mint color. Dark italic script inside it reads a Chinese proverb: 'The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.' Below the quote is a small brown flower with a curling tendril. Around the oval, mirrored aqua teardrops in dark curved frames sit on a deep blue background with bold outlines, like stained glass.

A collector wants this for the glowing turquoise oval that holds a Chinese proverb, set among mirrored cobalt and aqua stained-glass-style shapes. Most quote prints are plain type on a flat background. Here the words sit inside a luminous, jewel-like window with a painterly surface and bold dark outlines, so it works as a decorative picture as well as a message. The cool blues and strict symmetry feel calm, and the proverb's message about getting on with the work gives it a determined, encouraging tone. A buyer could want it purely for the colour and pattern, or for the saying.

Artwork by Omaste Witkowski