After The Leaf Peepers Have Gone Painting

I began my artistic career as a poet and used to paint and sketch at the end of the day's work to get to the other side of my brain-- and away from the computer. One evening, many years ago, friends and their partners came over for dinner. After the meal, one of the partners I had just met wandered into my writing room and saw all the paintings I set aside and asked what I was doing with them. I said, "nothing", and she wondered why. I told her it was just a hobby and a way to get away from words. She told me I should reconsider my hobby, and the following week introduced me to a gallery owner in Northampton MA. He really liked my work and began to represent my paintings. In the first year with the gallery, I made more money than I had in twenty years of writing poetry, so I rethought my career choice and began writing as a hobby.