Love for the Late Bloomers

Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus, illustrated by Jose Aruego

A friend of mine, in his mid-30s, finally feels that he is finding his groove in his art. A little guy I know, on his way to three, kept his words to a minimum for a bit longer than most. Now he talks a mile a minute. Late bloomers can be those who blossom in beauty or skill or talent later in life. Sometimes that blossoming comes without effort, but sometimes there's some tilling to do. I recently revisited a New Yorker article, "Late Bloomers: Why do we equate genius with precocity?" by Malcolm Gladwell who I still find to speak eloquently about and for delayed genius:

"But sometimes genius is anything but rarefied; sometimes it’s just the thing that emerges after twenty years of working at your kitchen table."

Here are some of my favorite late bloomers:

Mrs. Wilder's 1st book of the Little House series was not published until she was 65 years old.

Julia Child become a PBS starlet. At 51.

Kenneth Grahame published his first book, the children's book classic Wind in the Willows when he was 49.

Purple Robe and Anemones," 1937

Many believe that Matisse only started to become the artist we know him to be when he was 35.

Charles Bukowski, the poet, only BEGAN to write poetry when he was 35.

image by mion.ml

Forget summer flowers, chrysanthemums give your gardens color in the fall.

And isn't the story of the ugly ducking really the story of a late blooming beauty? Personally, I like this version best (watch and just try not to tear up):

Disney's "Ugly Duckling" (1939)