It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again

I was 52 years old when I realized it was now or never.

For years I had danced around my dream of becoming a real artist—one who didn’t just dabble but pursued it, with the same grit and intention I had poured into everything else I cared about. I’d painted on and off over the years, completely self-taught except for one six-week basics class my husband bought me at a local college. I went once a week and learned how to paint a mountain… and some bushes. I was thrilled.

With that little bit of knowledge and a lot of passion, I taught myself more—playing with color, learning technique, mixing, and experimenting. I was good enough to hang some pieces in local coffee shops. I even sold a few. I still laugh thinking about that early work. One of them was a large black-and-silver abstract—I don’t even have a photo of it. But I heard a young man bought it for his wife. (Sir, if you’re out there—I hope she loved it. 🫣)

But then, life dimmed.

I went through a time of depression. A darkness I couldn’t shake. Deep down, I knew why. I wasn’t doing what I was created to do. I wasn’t speaking the language I was born to speak—not in words, but in paint. That’s always been my true voice. My love language.

The problem was, I didn’t have the vocabulary. I didn’t yet have the skill to say what I wanted to say. I knew that if I was going to pursue this calling, I had to go all in.

So I made a decision: It’s now or never.

At 52, I started painting every day. I made a studio space in our home and treated it like a full-time job. My skills began to grow. I was finally building the vocabulary to speak in the language of color and light and story. But I also knew I needed more.

I stumbled across the Milan Art Institute. I devoured their free videos. I knew their program was the next step, but it was an investment—and I didn’t want to ask my husband to shoulder it alone. So we used half from our savings, and I raised the rest by selling off my stash of vintage finds (I’d had a flea market booth—I was a bit of a vintage hoarder 😅).

I enrolled in April 2023.

Now, as I write this, I’m nearing graduation. I’m building my website, creating collections, and preparing to launch the next chapter of my creative life.

By the time you read this, that chapter will have already begun.

And if you’ve ever found yourself wondering whether it’s too late to chase that creative nudge inside you—I’m living proof that it’s not. Sometimes the most beautiful beginnings come wrapped in the words “now or never“.