Have you ever heard people comment on how artists live long and remain active? It seems to be a cultural phenomenon. In the early 1800s, the critic William Hazlitt, fascinated by what he called “the old age of artists,” wrote, “One feels they are not quite mortal, that they have one imperishable part about them.” Intriguing, but do you suppose it’s simply because we are never bored? No matter what our favorite subject matter, we artists can draw or paint anything that light reveals to us or that lives in our heads as memory, thought or feeling. If the weather prevents working outside, or no still life or environment inspires us indoors, or if our imagination fails us, there is always a mirror and that universal powerful motivation—self-interest. We always…
