And so, we begin

I am past my midlife crisis. I bought my soupy little sports car, ran the marathon I wanted to, then a few more, then switched to cycling. But still… the long arm of stress keeps creeping up me like a vine crawling a tree. Mostly it is work related, and seems to be immune to hiking, biking, and taking deep breaths N times a day.

It is clear, that I am doing something wrong in my life mix. I work hard. I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about work. Admittedly, I work in a technical field where sometimes the best solutions can occur in the middle of the night when you mind is free to roam down any path with abandon, but somehow, someway, I must win the battle with stress.

When I was a kid, I liked to draw. All kids do I suppose, but I wouldn’t just doodle, but takes weeks and weeks toiling away at one drawing. You could say I wasn’t better at art than anyone, I just was a more stubborn about it.

I have never taken an art class. Well… I did once in high school, but all we did was draw whatever we wanted for the entire class. I never had fancy pencils, and my artwork lacked contrast. It was very detailed, but just, blah. No soul.

I don’t have any examples of my art back then, but this drawing was something did when I was in high school after I tried to do more shading.

I can pick this apart now, the non-consistent light source, the women with no face since I couldn't draw one ;) etc... but hey, I tried. It did take me a long time, and... I enjoyed it. Drawing is a bit like running or cycling, where time flies. It feels like I go into a meditative state.

So why is a 50 something year old getting back to art after many years of not doing anything artistic? I guess I already said, because of stress, but I also like the process. I was very inspired by my neighbor Bruce Reed, who took up painting, and became an artist. Yes he still works his day job, but he sells his works, displays in galleries, and is involved in the local Art community. I am not setting my personal hopes that high, but I have been very inspired how he grow as an artist and the amazing works he creates.

And so, my Art journey begins again, or continues after a very long hiatus. It will be a humbling journey, with many lessons, but I will share the sordid details here. I kept pictures of my very first scroll saw cuts. They were absolutely horrible. I almost quit the first day, but there I was with a $500 scroll saw. I kept moving forward mainly for that reason... but along the way, a strange thing happened... I got better! I am hoping the same thing happens with my art. Time will tell.