health risks
I am in the 30-40 category. I have had tendinitis/bursitis for about 8 years in my mousing arm--it\'s from computer work. I work in IT, so it\'s not likely I\'ll be able to get away from the computer any time soon.
Anyway, I find that if I spend a couple of hours painting, it aggravates my shoulder and elbow pain that day. After I\'ve slept, I don\'t really notice a difference, but I don\'t paint as often as some folks, either.
Also, in the last three years or so I\'ve noticed that my eyeballs are getting more and more tired. A couple of years ago I started wearing glasses all the time (I\'m farsighted, so they\'re magnifying glasses). This year, I got a special set just for my hobbies--they\'re made to focus about a foot or a foot and a half from my face, perfect for painting minis, reading books, and the like. They alleviate the tiredness considerably, but I can\'t see any further than two feet without taking them off. I suspect it won\'t be long before I\'m asking for bifocals, just because I love to read, have to stare at computers all day, and yet still have to see to drive. Changing glasses is a pain.
When I was younger, I didn\'t use glasses--the muscles in my eyeballs were strong enough to compensate for the irregularity in my vision, and the muscles didn\'t seem to get tired. Now, I\'m tiring. So, no actual change in my health per se, just a desire to have my hobbies be less work for the pleasure.
As far as age vs skill, I was always pretty skilled at drawing and painting. My sculpting is fairly crude, but I have always had very fine control over pencils. I never tried painting minis until the last five years or so, so I don\'t know if I\'m better now than I would have been then. I do know I have less patience and less tolerance for discomfort. I used to be able to sit in one position and lose myself in the artwork for hours on end. Now I\'m more conscious of stiff muscles, hunger, and other distractions. Now I\'m more of a dabbler. That probably makes me a poorer painter than I could be. I guess I need to develop a style that doesn\'t require 4-8 hours of concentrated painting. I have an hour a day I could probably use for painting, but it\'s hard to get over the thought that I need to have a significant chunk of time in order to get anything worthwhile done.
I am in the 30-40 category. I have had tendinitis/bursitis for about 8 years in my mousing arm--it\'s from computer work. I work in IT, so it\'s not likely I\'ll be able to get away from the computer any time soon.
Anyway, I find that if I spend a couple of hours painting, it aggravates my shoulder and elbow pain that day. After I\'ve slept, I don\'t really notice a difference, but I don\'t paint as often as some folks, either.
Also, in the last three years or so I\'ve noticed that my eyeballs are getting more and more tired. A couple of years ago I started wearing glasses all the time (I\'m farsighted, so they\'re magnifying glasses). This year, I got a special set just for my hobbies--they\'re made to focus about a foot or a foot and a half from my face, perfect for painting minis, reading books, and the like. They alleviate the tiredness considerably, but I can\'t see any further than two feet without taking them off. I suspect it won\'t be long before I\'m asking for bifocals, just because I love to read, have to stare at computers all day, and yet still have to see to drive. Changing glasses is a pain.
When I was younger, I didn\'t use glasses--the muscles in my eyeballs were strong enough to compensate for the irregularity in my vision, and the muscles didn\'t seem to get tired. Now, I\'m tiring. So, no actual change in my health per se, just a desire to have my hobbies be less work for the pleasure.
As far as age vs skill, I was always pretty skilled at drawing and painting. My sculpting is fairly crude, but I have always had very fine control over pencils. I never tried painting minis until the last five years or so, so I don\'t know if I\'m better now than I would have been then. I do know I have less patience and less tolerance for discomfort. I used to be able to sit in one position and lose myself in the artwork for hours on end. Now I\'m more conscious of stiff muscles, hunger, and other distractions. Now I\'m more of a dabbler. That probably makes me a poorer painter than I could be. I guess I need to develop a style that doesn\'t require 4-8 hours of concentrated painting. I have an hour a day I could probably use for painting, but it\'s hard to get over the thought that I need to have a significant chunk of time in order to get anything worthwhile done.
