Becoming an artist later in life....

Hi and welcome to my new blog,
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My name is Marielle, I’m from the Netherlands.
Together with my husband I live in Spain. We have two children, a daughter and a son. Only since a few years can I say “I am an Artist” without doubting my own words.


Art as my healing.

I started painting in 2016, at the age of 44.
It was more than two years since my father had passed away.
Being around his painting supplies was comforting and slowly I felt the growing need to start painting like he had done.
Finally I began painting with his paints which I had inherited.

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At that point, I did not have any thoughts of being or becoming an artist myself, I just felt the need to paint.
It was not at all something I was consciously thinking about, I just painted.
Every day….
And I could not stop doing it and after a while it became a daily need.
I really believe that at that point everything started to change for me.


Midlife Crisis?

Doing art challenges on Instagram, following art groups on Facebook, connecting to other artists online, learning and growing by painting, reading about spirituality, being more active in my meditating, all of these things were part of my change. 
They made me aware of new things that interested me, that formed me.
But I still was not aware that something was changing in me.​

Now, 2021, at the age of 49 I can honestly say I am feeling more “me” than I probably ever have felt before.
Feeling more confident and not as shy as I used to be; I now know better what I want, like and what I would like to explore.
My passion for painting has brought me so much growth, I also think it has to do with things happening in life at a certain age. 

All came at a moment in my life when I was more ready for these changes, at an age where I believe all women go through a change. (or what do you think?)
I do not think I would have reacted the same when it all would have happened to me 10 years earlier.
And all of this, maybe some would say “my midlife-crisis”, has helped me to become the person I am now.
Without it all I would not be the artist that I feel I am now.​

Middle aged Women

I was reading about Midlife Crisis on the internet and found this:

“A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle aged individuals, typically 45 to 65 years old.”

That is truly how it feels for me, as a transition, having more self-confidence, accepting me with all my good and bad habits and weaknesses. Understanding we are all unique and that we do NOT have to compare ourselves with others. At the same time I must say I do not feel old or middle-aged, it is just a fact that I am in that so called age.

You read it a lot, middle aged women that say they finally accept who they are.

So, I do believe that we later in life come to a point that, maybe unconsciously, we realise that NOW is the moment to grab that chance, follow that dream or make a drastic change.
In my case I feel losing my dad kick-started this process.
And it made me start doing things differently. It made me grow, find art and made me finally realise I am as much an artist as any other artist !

I would love to hear if you have had similar experiences.
What big changes did this stage in life bring to your life ? 
I could write so much more about what I did during that period of change (still going on) and how important art has become for me in that time.

And I will, I will write more!