I’ve been creating for as long as I can remember, it was always what I was drawn to since I was tiny though it was quantity over quality in those days.
I was always drawn towards creative subjects at school and then went on to study textiles at university. I worked in creative industries for many years and then raising my family became the priority.
I’ve got two beautiful children, when my youngest was born she was very poorly and I now had to navigate the challenging world of being a parent-carer of a disabled child. The stress and trauma I experienced while battling for services and support for her began to take its toll on my mental health. Three years ago I hit a wall and I knew I needed to do something to help myself feel well again.
Creativity was the obvious choice and I enrolled in a watercolour workshop at Long Eaton Art Room with my fantastic teacher and artist Gail Knight. Whilst I’d always been creative I never thought I was any good at drawing and never even tried to pick up a paint brush. However as soon as I picked up the paint brush something magic happened, I found such calmness when I painted and found a new skill which I enjoyed so much. I haven’t put the brushes down since!
I enjoy painting a variety of subjects but am particularly drawn to birds and flowers. I like to push the boundaries of watercolours and paint with a lot of water helping to create texture and liveliness in my paintings. Sometimes my favourite thing is to just play with the paint creating backgrounds, I’ll then sit and stare at them like those old magic eye paintings until I can visualise what that background needs painting on it.
I’m so pleased to have passed my love of creativity on to my two children, my eldest loves to draw and create gaming designs and my youngest just loves covering herself in paint!
I’m available for workshop teaching at groups and events and will soon have my own workshop programme up and running. After seeing what creativity has done for me, I’m really passionate about it’s power and the impact that it can have on mental health, I’d love to be able to share this with others through teaching.
When I’m not teaching, I can be found in my garden studio painting originals and commissions, please do get in touch if you’d like to discuss your ideas!