A week ago, I entered a new chapter of my life.

I retired. Officially retired.

I am now a retiree, a pensioner; and it’s taken me a few days to wrap my head around all that, even though I’ve had all these years to prepare for it.

Retired: I am looking forward to what is ahead of me; I’m actually using the term “rewired.” This is the time to rethink how my life is progressing, and to retry and relearn what I want, as I will no longer respond to bosses, mangers, company directives, corporate bullshit and the deadlines and pressure of it all.

I can now do what I want.

I am readjusting my life to suit me. Surely, I will alter some of my fundamental ways, routines, and priorities.

They always say you should plan, well in advance, for retirement.

Decades ago, at a retirement party for an older co-worker, dinner conversation turned to what those around the table were planning to do in their retirement years. The celebrating retiree taking up woodworking (our gift to the man was a specialized tool he was always talking about). Most of the dinner guests wanted to travel, or had plans to spend time on new hobbies or those they didn’t have time for during their working years.

When the question was asked of me, at first, I didn’t have an answer. Then, in my thirties or early forties, I hadn’t given it much thought; retirement seemed so far off.

One of the guests continued to press for an answer. He surmised that I was already a writer and a photographer, so there must be another artistic pursuit in my future.

I replied “painting… I plan to paint.”

The answer didn’t really surprise anyone, or there wasn’t a wholehearted response, until I added “nudes”. 

Yes, I said, “When I retire, I’m going to paint nudes.”

Ha, ha, ha; laughter filled the room. But I wasn’t joking. I truly planned on painting when I retired, and nudes seemed like a wonderful subject matter; maybe even more because of the almost mocking response.

So, for decades, I’ve been holding this out as a retirement goal.

Almost 10 years back, while in Toronto, I joined a sketch group where we would meet weekly for life drawing sessions; timed poses with a live model. Aways an enjoyable evening, it was a chance to gain greater perspective on both my skills and talents, and the human form.

When COVID hit a while later, our life drawing sessions were abruptly cancelled and the group disbanded.

It was during the COVID years that I had the time to get back to painting.

As a teenager I had taken oil painting classes but they, then, were more than frustrating for me. I already painted in watercolour, but oil paint took more time, study and preparation. Oil paints get a little messy and I, as a somewhat restless teen, found oils were nowhere near as immediate as watercolours. I was too impatient. So, I put the pursuit on hold, perhaps until I was an adult.

It was 2020 when I felt I was adult enough to take on the medium. With the onset of the coronavirus, I suddenly had the time. Even then, I told myself it was more to familiarize myself with the tones and temperament of oils paints (I still find them messy). I studied colour theory (again) spent more time working on undertones and underpainting and pursued the practice as a means of getting ready to paint nudes. I’ve got pages and pages of sketches to work from and will soon, again, work with live models (if you are interested in sitting for a session, send me an email; I’m looking for all ages, gender and body types).

When I moved back to Winnipeg last year, in preparation for my retirement years, I also joined a local printmakers group with a well-equipped studio. My plan is to use photography in the silkscreen dimension, and I have a few projects planned. I may even incorporate nudes.

The important thing for me, when I joined the group, was to get ready to make art. I will make art a greater priority in my life. That is my retirement plan.

Yes, in the grand scheme of things, art will direct where I go and what I do during my retirement years. I can’t think of a more fulfilling objective.

The pursuit of art, and its many forms, will give me a focus in retirement. Again, I’m not thinking of it as being retired, but “rewired’. Going forward I will change my thinking away from deadlines and commitments, and my performance will be personal and its results more tactile.

From now on, for me, it is all about art. More so, the art of living.

© 2026 j.g. lewis