Madam Yeo Soon Kim, better known as “Grandma Rosy”, is 85 and blind in her left eye, but that does not stop her from doing what she loves most – colouring.
With the help of a huge magnifying glass, she sits at the dining table daily, sometimes from as early as 5am, to diligently colour for as long as eight hours.
A portrait can take her up to three days, and a set of colour pencils would not last her more than a month.
Grandma Rosy, who suffered a mild stroke that paralysed one side of her body two years ago, said: “If I’m tired, I can always rest. When I’m not tired, I’ll continue.
“At my age, colouring engages my mind. If I watch too much TV, I tend to fall asleep. If I exercise my hand by colouring, I won’t get sleepy so easily.”
She started colouring 10 years ago after a fall that affected her mobility.
Her son, Mr Rocson Aw, 44, a sales marketer, said: “That (fall) stopped her from going out. So to pass the time, she would colour my children’s colouring books.”
Mr Aw added that his niece, graphic designer Jesline Teo, 26, would buy colouring books, scan the pages and print them in a bigger size because of Grandma Rosy’s poor eyesight.
Miss Teo said: “She wakes up early to do simple therapy exercises on her own, and soon after, she’s colouring again.”
Grandma Rosy hopes to encourage more old folk to take up colouring.
“It’s good to use your mind and be active,” she said.
