By Paula Pyzik Scott

Does taking up painting at age 80 sound like a daunting prospect? George Fischer of Bluffton has done just that. You could say that painting is Fischer’s third or fourth career. He worked in advertising until age 50, when he earned his law degree. In retirement, George and his wife Lois traveled the country in an RV, often volunteering at national parks.

The couple now resides at Maple Crest, where George has studio space, and where the walls of the Fischers’ apartment are covered with paintings that embody his love of color and composition.

George did not pick up the brush casually: he studied for five years with a professor in Florida who still serves as his mentor and collaborator. The Fischers moved from Florida to Bluffton to be near their daughter, Julia Szabo. He notes that he took up painting as a way to hopefully avoid Alzheimer's, having experienced the disease’s impact on his father.

Fischer’s paintings, as seen at Maple Crest and archived in printed booklets, share a bold style but cover a wide variety of subjects. They include portraits of Lois, himself and Albert Einstein. Scenes include places the Fischers have traveled to. A favorite theme is flowers. George notes that he does paint abstracts, but that he gets somewhat lost in them.

A recent painting displayed on Fischer’s easel is Moon over Riley Creek, which emulates the work of Ukrainian artist Ivan Marchuk. Distinct brush strokes radiate from the sun, filling the sky. The Riley serves as a mirror for the land around it.

In the sociable atmosphere of Maple Crest, George has led a couple of painting workshops, which focused on flowers and butterflies.

A life lesson emerges from the conversation: painting is George’s way of reinventing himself. He says that if you work at one thing for too long, you get stale. While he hones his craft in watercolors, acrylics and oils, he is expanding his way of looking at art and at life.