I never thought that I would never paint again. I had actually packed up all my paints and put them in the loft, believing inspiration had left me.  In fact it was 9 years ago that I painted anything in watercolour. I was off exploring other art mediums like silk painting, mosaic and more recently taken up photography again (another medium I had given up after leaving college 30 years ago) which I really enjoy. The watercolours just sat there gathered dust.

It was a close family member that asked me to do a series of photographs of her dog as a Christmas present that nudged me back into the painting again. After I had taken the pictures I thought I would surprise her and do a painting of her beloved Kizzy.

Sitting down and putting the first paint on the paper was daunting, I couldn’t remember any of the painting techniques. But once started I had to carry on; I decided to take the cautious route and lay down a series of washes to build up the colour gradually and only working with a pallet of three colours. I have to admit I was scared of spoiling the picture by over doing it and it seemed to take for ever to complete.

Anyway to cut a long story short I learnt a lot on that first painting:

1. I really loved working in Watercolour again;

2. new painting techniques to paint whiskers & fur; 3. to be confident again in my painting and not to be shy about sharing my work.

I find sitting and painting calming and relaxing, I completely forget all the stresses of my daytime job, which I lovely but it is stressful on occasions.  I would recommend painting and drawing to anyone who wants to unwind especially if you are creating pet portraits from the beautiful faces of peoples much loved animal companions.

I have had a few commissions now and one of the great pleasures for me is watching the expression on the face of someone opening their painting for the first time, it’s a pleasure that money just can’t buy.