What could be better than starting a whole new life after you have already lived much of a completely happy and fulfilling one? Debbie Mueller can speak to how wonderful embarking on a brand, new journey can be. The doctor of obstetrics and gynecology was visiting her parents in Florida in 2016, when the weather and options for entertainment were less than enticing. “My mother, who loved art as a hobby, said, ‘I have this paint set, let’s paint,’” Mueller recalls. “At the end, I thought, ‘This was so much fun, and if I’m honest, I didn’t do too badly.’” Given the quality of art Mueller is creating, it seems impossible that was only six years ago, and even more stupefying, that she had never discovered her talent before.

“When I got home from that trip, I bought some paint, and I started to copy photos and it became clear how much I didn’t know,” she explains. “I bought the 48-color set of acrylics because I wanted to be able to make every color I could. I had no idea you mix your own colors. I couldn’t draw. I literally was starting at zero.” Mueller quickly understood that the people who have painted for a long time have drawn for a long time. The surgeon keenly understood the idea of practice and repetition was a path to accomplishment.