Narrowboat Linocut Artist
Artist comes out of hiding after being lost in the rat race for nearly 20 years!
My darling husband Chris and I, were very fortunate to go on our honeymoon to Thailand in 2019, just before the pandemic hit. The richness of culture and yummy food lured us in and I am so glad it did, as this awoke the dormant artist in me.
It’s such a lively, colourful and bustling country, oozing with stunning architecture, clothing and history. Everywhere you look there’s beauty, it’s like a sweet shop for the eyes. I was taken aback by the many temples and in particular with Wat Rong Suea Ten (Blue Temple) and Wat Rong Khun (White Temple), both in Chang Rai and an exquisite blend of traditional and modern architecture and artwork.
From the moment I got off the plane I began sketching, scrap booking and painting, inspired by the zillions of photos I had taken and memorabilia I had collected from our wonderful trip.
Since graduating Bolton university in 2001 with a BA (hons) in Textile Design and Surface Pattern, I struggled to find a job relating to my degree. Through a lack of confidence, a few knock backs and the design world being overtaken by computer aided design (which I had minimal experience in) I struggled finding a position.
From the outset I’d always wanted to paint and create with my hands, so the thought of working with computers was very dull to me at the time. So,n for the short term (or so I told myself) I began working in an office. The security of a wage and full-time employment kept me running on the hamster wheel for 20 years and ironically working all day with computers!
Yet the yearning to be an artist never left me. Over those years I dabbled in creating art work now and then, but life always got in the way of my vocation becoming a reality.
This time however was different, the hunger to create was back! After our honeymoon, Chris also treated us to the book ‘The Artist’s Way-a course in discovering and recovering your creative self’. Throughout the book there are exercises to complete over a 12-week period and daily journaling or as they are called in the book, ‘morning pages’. Both Chris and I found this book very cathartic and effective in unearthing our lost creative souls and helping to nudge us back onto our desired paths. I would strongly recommend this book if you need a boost or you are struggling with creative block. I have been creating almost daily for 2 years now, in my spare time, which feels like such an achievement.
My confidence is growing with every piece of work I complete, as I am constantly learning and developing. Although I don’t have a full-time career in art, yet. The ongoing stick I used to beat myself up with for not producing art has been broken and I can now draw a line under it (pardon the pun) and move on. I hope one day that the ‘day job’ will be as an artist, but in the meantime, I shall continue to explore and enjoy the journey on my artists way.
It’s never too late to fulfill your dreams and pursue a passion you really love!! So, what are you waiting for?