Just over three years ago, I wrote this blog post on the subject of retirement.
But here I am, past my three score years and ten - and still being told that I work too hard!
While there are aspects of my work that I’m less than enthusiastic about and would happily delegate to someone else if I could afford to, that would have been the case whatever my age.
And I really see no good reason to retire! My eye-sight is fine, I think that my artistic abilities are, if anything, improving with practice; and while I’ve noticed that I’m not quite as good at multi-tasking as I used to be, that certainly isn’t enough of an issue to make me give up, or even slow down.
If for some reason, I was forced to retire, I wonder what I would do with myself.
Oh yes, there would be more time for visiting friends or chatting with them on the phone. I could spend more time on things I enjoy like cooking, gardening, reading novels, quilting, dressmaking, exploring the countryside, taking photos. . .
But I’m pretty sure that at least once a day, I would pick up a pencil and doodle something. And then the doodle would become a drawing. That in turn would become a greeting card design or a repeating pattern. And the photos would become the basis of pastel paintings - and then I’d end up wondering what to do with them!
It’s my view that art and design are not primarily for one’s own amusement. For me at least they are forms of communication. In which case, there needs to be someone to communicate with . . . and before long, I’d end up posting my art or design work online and hoping that someone would like what they see, enough to make them want to buy it!
Yes, I still get the puzzled looks and meaningful hints from friends who retired years ago. But as far as I’m concerned, Henry Moore was spot on!
"There’s no retirement for an artist. It’s your way of living so there’s no end to it." – Henry Moore
At the time, I vaguely thought that by the time I reached seventy I might feel differently about it and at least decide to cut down my working hours.
But here I am, past my three score years and ten - and still being told that I work too hard!
While there are aspects of my work that I’m less than enthusiastic about and would happily delegate to someone else if I could afford to, that would have been the case whatever my age.
And I really see no good reason to retire! My eye-sight is fine, I think that my artistic abilities are, if anything, improving with practice; and while I’ve noticed that I’m not quite as good at multi-tasking as I used to be, that certainly isn’t enough of an issue to make me give up, or even slow down.
If for some reason, I was forced to retire, I wonder what I would do with myself.
Oh yes, there would be more time for visiting friends or chatting with them on the phone. I could spend more time on things I enjoy like cooking, gardening, reading novels, quilting, dressmaking, exploring the countryside, taking photos. . .
But I’m pretty sure that at least once a day, I would pick up a pencil and doodle something. And then the doodle would become a drawing. That in turn would become a greeting card design or a repeating pattern. And the photos would become the basis of pastel paintings - and then I’d end up wondering what to do with them!
It’s my view that art and design are not primarily for one’s own amusement. For me at least they are forms of communication. In which case, there needs to be someone to communicate with . . . and before long, I’d end up posting my art or design work online and hoping that someone would like what they see, enough to make them want to buy it!
Yes, I still get the puzzled looks and meaningful hints from friends who retired years ago. But as far as I’m concerned, Henry Moore was spot on!
"There’s no retirement for an artist. It’s your way of living so there’s no end to it." – Henry Moore
How about you?
(I've made all of these images A4-size at 300 dpi - so please feel free to download and print them if they would help you stay motivated - and of course you're welcome to 'pin' them!)
4 comments:
Retirement age shouldn't be a reason for us to stop using our talents. I know you can still doodle something during those days when you're no longer working. You'll have more time to focus on painting, right? However, it's nice to know that you're already planning how to spend those retirement years. All I hope is that you'll save enough funds for those things that you wanted to do. It's better to ensure your financial stability, right? :)
Hi Hortensia
Thank you for stopping by and commenting.
I have no intention of retiring - ever! I have seen too many people go downhill when they retire and being self-employed, I don't have to! :)
I can't wait to retire from my day job so I can devote more time to my art!!!!
Hi Jayne - I hope you don't have too long to wait!
In some ways I was lucky that my 'day job', my private tutoring business was an early casualty of the global banking crisis, otherwise I'd probably still be doing that today and missed out on all I've learnt - and enjoyed! - in the past five years!
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