@wsnicol I, along with many others, understand where you are coming from. c++ was my first exposure to programming back in 2006, so I guess that’s a hundred years as well LOL . so I second with @GoToLoop and @TfGuy44. Processing is great for artists to get started with tons of examples built in and is great to remaster the concepts of programming, which seems like your case.
I would also take a look at p5.js - https://p5js.org/ if you get into web development.
Best of luck! We hope you enjoy it 