I've always had a love of art. I enjoyed it at school, although that feels like a lifetime ago now. It wasn't until much later in life that I found my way back to painting, and I don't think I could have imagined then just how much it would come to mean to me.
It happened at a time when I was having to make changes to my career and was at a particularly low point in my life. I needed something that would give me a sense of purpose, something meaningful to wake up to each day. Painting became that something.
I've always been a creative person, and I love the freedom that art gives me to experiment. I enjoy working with different media, exploring textures, techniques and ideas, and allowing myself to see where they lead. I don't feel the need to be defined by one particular style or way of working.
One of the things I've come to believe is that sometimes we simply need to give ourselves permission to create. Without judgement, without overthinking and without worrying too much about the end result.
Often, I'll start with an idea, an image or just a feeling. I may not know exactly where it's going, but once those first few brushstrokes are down, something seems to take over. I become absorbed in the process, and the rest begins to flow. Those are the moments I enjoy most, when I'm not trying to make something perfect but simply allowing myself to create.
We spend so much of our lives feeling we have to achieve, succeed or live up to expectations. Art offers us something different. The freedom to explore, to make mistakes, to try something new and, perhaps most importantly, to enjoy doing something simply because we love it.
There is growing scientific evidence that art and creativity can have a positive effect on mental well-being. I can certainly relate to that. Painting hasn't made life's difficulties disappear, but it has helped me find direction, given me confidence and brought a sense of purpose back into my life.
I also think being an artist takes courage, something I perhaps didn't fully appreciate when I started painting again.
Creating something is one thing, but putting it out into the world for others to see is quite another. There is a vulnerability in sharing your work because, in many ways, you're sharing a little of yourself. Not everyone will understand it, connect with it or like it, and that's perfectly fine. Art is subjective, after all. But it still takes courage to put yourself out there.
I'm learning that creativity isn't about getting everything right or pleasing everyone. It's about being curious, experimenting, taking risks and sometimes surprising yourself.
Returning to painting later in life has taught me that it's never too late to rediscover something you love, to begin again or to find a different path.
And perhaps the greatest gift art has given me isn't just what I've created on the canvas, but what I've discovered about myself along the way.
We don't have to be accomplished to be creative. We don't have to be young to begin. And art doesn't have to be perfect to be meaningful.
Sometimes we just need to pick up a brush, make that first mark and see where it takes us.