I have always had an interest in art and drawing since I was young. Returning to art recently has helped me cope with Chronic Pain by immersing myself totally in the process of creativity. I am a qualified Chef who loves drawing, macro photography and music. I have no formal art education, most of my training has come from Web Tutorials, books and Videos.
I refer to myself as a Pastellist even though I like to use all types of mediums including Acrylics, Oil, Pencil, Watercolour and Charcoal. The majority of my latest pieces are created using Pastel Pencils, Soft Pastels and Pan Pastels because of their ease of use and relatively easy daily clean up. I am drawn to a variety of subjects including Wildlife, Landscapes, Still Life and Portraits and have completed a number of commissions.
My Macro photography usually celebrates the ugly – such as dead flowers, rusted metal, broken items. Things that most people overlook, I find beautiful.
My passions have merged recently as I prefer to draw detailed close ups of my subjects. My style of drawing may be described as realism that borders on cartoonish, using over exaggerated bright colours. I think it is these colours that bring the artworks to life.
I always play music while creating my artwork and have been inspired to name my art after songs. Sometimes the name of the song inspires me to create a painting or a finished picture conjures up the name of a song that I love to listen to.
I find that listening to music and creating art has the ability to transport you to another world and is totally underestimated and under utilised by today’s society when it comes to treating mental health conditions and chronic illness. My goal for the future is to share my knowledge and introduce as many artists to pastel as possible. It has been seen as an inferior medium in the past but is slowly gaining renaissance due to its pure pigment and intense colour, easy use and transportation.