After that first painting session, Nicholas and I were hooked. Soon, I graduated from scrap paper to small canvases, usually painting whatever Nicholas ordered like a tiny art director. Olaf? Sure. Super Mario? Why not. Santa Claus in May? Of course, boss.
What amazed me was how much fun I was having. Painting stopped being “just for him” and started becoming something I genuinely craved. It was my little escape after a long workday — no deadlines, no emails, just colors, brushes, and me pretending to know what I was doing.
Naturally, because we live in the age of oversharing, I started posting some of these on social media. I didn’t expect much — maybe a few likes from my wife. But then, friends began reaching out.
And just like that, what started as messy afternoons with Nicholas turned into something much bigger in my heart — a way to reconnect with creativity, have fun, and remind myself (and maybe a few others) that it’s never too late to pick up an old passion and make it part of your everyday life again.
