Dear M
Studying horticulture may not stop you painting, but it will push it to the sidelines. Exactly at the point when you should nurture and develop your talent, you will stagnate. Now is the time to focus on your art, to grasp the opportunities that won't be available to you later. Unlike a horticulture course, which you could do in your thirties, if the art doesn't work out (which it will, I am sure). Where will you be at thirty? In a backwater garden centre, answering endless questions about how to overwinter citrus, prune roses and keep slugs at bay? Or in your studio, preparing for your next exhibition?
You are too young to be worried about what will bring in the money. You don't have a mortgage or kids (or any plans to have either soon, I imagine), so you can work at a nursery part time to pay the bills and put your best time and passion into painting.
I'm married, yes, but I don't have children. I'm not painting because my paintings expressed my sense of self. It is better for me not to do that right now. Seeing how students express themselves is much more rewarding, which is why I would love you to continue to develop your art. I want to see you expressed in that drawing of the winter storm at Maudlin Pool, not in a perfectly potted hydrangea cutting.
D
YOU ARE READING
The Keeper
RomanceEvery schoolgirl has crushes, but could a schoolgirl crush last a lifetime? When 17-year old Martha starts at a new school, she carries a glimmer of hope that this time will be different. She doesn't seek popularity, but rather a quiet space where s...
