I Draw Home-Notes 4 Home /Fifty and Forward

1. Alphabet Soup

   

   
   

Fifty and Forward

Reflections on age, art, and showing up for the creative self

Today I turn 50. And inside? I feel alive — filled with excitement for what’s still to come. There’s so much to look forward to in the next 50 years.

If you’re new around here: I’m beginning what might be my second or maybe even my fourth career (you can read more about me [here]). Either way, what I’ve learned is this — it's never too late to begin again. You are never too old to start something meaningful.

Fourteen years ago, I started drawing on paper. It was simple, just a beginning. For a long time, I didn’t do much with it. But a few years ago, I got serious about building a portfolio and a website. And then this past spring, I took the leap — a business class to fully commit to an art career.

With our recent move and our wandering across the western U.S., something shifted in me. I feel grounded even while in motion. I believe in my work.

That, I think, is one of the quiet gifts of age — boldness. A deep knowing that your voice, your art, your creativity has value.

So wherever you are in life, whether you're just beginning or rediscovering your voice, I want to say this:

Keep going. Fifty and Forward

The world needs your bold creativity. Keep drawing. Keep painting. Keep writing, capturing the world in photographs, and singing your heart out. Keep putting beauty into the world. New things are just around the corner. Amazing things are out there everywhere you look.

🖋 A Timeline of Showing Up

• At 36, I started doodling. It was… awful. I showed up anyway.

• At 38, I started painting. It was weird. I showed up anyway.

• At 40, 42, and 44, I kept creating — slowly getting better.

There were late nights and early mornings, small pieces of time squeezed in between everything else. I kept trying. I kept painting. I kept developing a tiny style of my own. And I kept going.

Now, on my 50th birthday, I stand here proud.I wake up each day and show up for my creative self. And I hope you will, too.

2.Lunchbox Note

Download Now for Free

Whimsical birthday lunchbox note featuring a colorful garden scene with a butterfly, bee, and snail gathered around a honey cake amidst vibrant flowers.

3. Nourish Yourself

• I have been eyeing making this kinda simple/kinda complex birthday cake -CAKE🎂. I Love a good Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Marshmallow frosting.

• This looks to be a fun page of Travel Art Supplies to pack in my bag for being out for a day or a whole summer.🐝 They get in so many amazing unique supplies weekly.

• I can’t get over this tiny flower press 🌸 Tiny Flower Press

• This was a fun way to spend a Sunday in Colorado, reliving many days spent in my life at Estes Park.

  
  
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4. This is HOME

Evergreen, Colorado being out in the wild feels like Home