Caricature Drawing and a Better Retirement

What began as a hobby has become a full-timecounselor,working in a busy community-based mental
obsession. I refuse to refer to drawing as a "job",thathealth facility. There are no more staff meetings,
would defeat the original purose of what I do.schedules or mountains of paperwork to deal with. I
It began as a search for some part-time waynow spend my daysat home in my studio,listening to
ofaugmenting Social Security. I needed enoughvintage rock'n roll music and creating caricatures from
additionalincome to keep the wolves away andphotos people send me.
facilitate my beingable to focus exclusively on art; theI'm not getting rich, but I am comfortable and, more
fullfillment ofa life-long dream.importantly, much more at ease with myself and the
For the past three years I have been makingworld. I have succeeded in making retirement a truly
thetransition from my previous life as a mental"golden" experience that has rejuvenated my spirit
healthcounselor to that of a semi-retired caricatureandreplentished my hope for the future.
artist.I strongly encourage anyone who is comtemplating
It has been one heck of a trip, but well worth thetimewhat to do with themselves in their later years, those
and effort.who do not necessarily see themselves fishing or
I feel very comfortable saying to one and all thatplaying golf until they're planted, to consider a similar
I have now made it to where I had always wishedcourse. Turn your hobby or latent passion into a
andhoped I could someday be. My list of artmeans to a happier, more productive retirement.
clientsnumbers into many hundreds and include not onlyFor me, it was art and caricature drawing. Whatever it
ordersfrom nearly every State in the Union, but alsois you've always wished you could do, remember: If
from adozen foreign countries as well. I have divestednot now, when?
myselfof the stressful routine of being a full-time