Benefits of retirement

Van Gogh working

Jobs, working mainly for a paycheck, are the curse of the artistic class. Many artists blossom after retirement, when for the first time they have the opportunity to focus on their craft.

My longtime friend Tom Strah is a case in point. I met him in grad school when he played the lead in my first produced play, a one-act that had come in 3rd in the national Tennessee Williams competition, which was success enough to change my MFA studies from fiction to playwriting. Later Tom and I performed Albee's Zoo Story together. Still later, Tom visited after retirement while I was shooting The Farewell Wake, so I gave him a cameo role.

Tom has picked up the brush since retirement with impressive results. Here are two recent examples.

Vincent Van Gogh at 18

More Strah art at http://thomasidaho.deviantart.com