Finding Beauty, Humor, & Joy In A New Season
A painter, gardener, and writer, Kim has found a midlife bottomless reserve of energy and excitement to do, create, learn and imagine.
Introduction & Paintings by Kim Druker Stockwell, Contributing Writer & Artist
It has taken me a while to hone in on what I love to paint. I live most of the time in the City of Boston and went through a period of time painting cityscapes. They do sell well, but I don’t enjoy the interaction with people walking by. I paint subject matter best when it is in front of me, and in a city that means people. Painting takes a lot of focus and chatting with people ... you can see the issue.
I am the horticulture chair of my garden club and I love to garden. We have a home in New Hampshire, and that is where I let my gardening freak fly. Recently, it is also where I do my best painting I think. At 57, I feel both the urgency of getting on with whatever it is I think I might want to do in this life, and a wonder that my work is getting better.
In addition to my painting practice (I sell through galleries and have studios in Boston and in New Hampshire), I write a blog here on Substack called Women’s Survival Guide. Yes, a middle-aged white woman writes a blog about midlife ... not exactly news. BUT! I’d like to think that what I am trying to do is a bit original: getting women to try new things through the inspiration of other women’s stories.
We women have long been taught to fear failure and the mean queens in life, and guess what? It’s ok to fail and the mean queens are going through the same stuff you are. What do we have to lose?
I hope you will check out my humor-filled writing about this empty-nest, “now what?!” phase of life, and take part in my Maven 5Q questionnaire linked here.
I also hope you will enjoy seeing some of my paintings below. You can find more here.
Belle Curve Stories is edited by Teresa Bellock and Sandra Ditore and brought to you by Belle Curve Ventures LLC. See what’s possible.
Kim Druker Stockwell, 57, is a writer and visual artist living in Boston with her husband and pets. She worked in several industries before having three kids in two years. Kim holds two master’s degrees: a master’s of fine art from Tufts/Museum School (SMFA) and a master’s in real estate development from Columbia University. In addition to painting and writing, Kim loves gardening and is the horticulture chair of The Beacon Hill Garden Club. She is also on the board of the Nichols House Museum (Boston) and an advisor at the Museum of Fine Arts.
I am so honored and thrilled to be a part of Belle Curve Stories!