Nicky, Well, let's see. I love almost any medium. I am an art teacher, having a BS in art education. I have a Masters in design, so I'm a graphic designer too. I ended up doing marketing in education and health care. I love acrylic and oil painting, pencil drawing, photography, all kinds of graphic design (especially logos/branding), caricatures, photo/caption projects, carving pumpkins (see below) and lots of other stuff! My hands and arms are the biggest problem although my breathing muscles get affected by things like carving pumpkins. Last year I got so bad that I needed physical therapy for my back! Not fun.
I do photoshop but even that can get tedious. My hands don't have that fine motor coordination anymore. I just do what I can when I feel like it.
I think creating is probably the best thing a person can do to feel good, besides giving of your time to others.
If any of you guys want to try to do pumpkins like this, do the following. I bet even doctors could do it if they tried!
Choose two shapes you really like that you think look good together.
Draw an oval or round pumpkin shape on a piece of paper.
Put those two shapes within that area, varying the sizes and positions.
Sometimes it helps, once you're done, to turn it upside down.
You'd be surprised at how the subconscious mind works that way!
Then carve away. The white pumpkins are often easier than the orange ones.
I have found that carving out the bottom of the pumpkin works best.
It also helps if you have someone else clean the pumpkin out for you! Or carve it for you!
You can also take the pieces you carved out and pin them (with "T" pins) onto the outside of the pumpkin.
Then put a candle in it and behind it for taking photos.
If you can physically handle it, it's lots of fun.
Thanks for the question, Nicky! I'm glad you like to be creative too. It's hard but it's worth it. BTW, I didn't do all those pumpkins at once! They are from several years of doing them.