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Gaylord Chan

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'I reckon the best time of my day is 3.30am to 5.30am because I always have the clearest mind then. I wake up at 3.30am and switch on my computer. Since I had a stroke, which affected my brain functions, I've tried to retrain it by playing Spider Solitaire [a computerised card game]. The game is very difficult and, at first, I could only play for five minutes, but now I can play for 45 minutes. If I can't sleep, I play until I'm tired.

I also use the computer to draw. I use MS Paint [the basic drawing program that comes with microsoft Windows] and this is the main way I produce work now.

It usually takes me about 30 hours to finish a painting in this way.

I first used MS Paint in 1997, when I had no idea how to use a computer. I used to draw in my studio in the art school that my wife, Josephine, and I run in Tai Po.

But, because she has become so successful, she has to use my studio for her classes. I was kicked out from my own studio!

After having a quarter of my lungs removed because of cancer last year, my strength has not been that good. I can't draw large paintings like I used to, so I use MS Paint. But even using the computer takes up a lot of my energy. For example, the colours I choose in the program always look different when I print them out. So I always have to print out a palette of colours and look at it before choosing a colour on the screen.

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