TURNING PAIN IN TO PURPOSE
“Don’t get lost in your pain, know that one day your pain will become your cure.” - Rumi
It’s been one whole year since I launched my new, rebranded website and what a year it’s been - well, 18 months really - and I’ve grown so much as an artist and as a person. I’ve sold more work than I ever imagined, undertaken some huge commissions and shown my art in public for the first time.
I’ve gradually been finding my niche in a saturated market place and am committed to building my brand of Art For The Soul. If you’re new here let me explain what that means…
Interlude I - 60x80cm, mixed media on canvas.
Making art, whether drawing pencil portraits as a kid or using Indian ink to create fashion illustrations in my 20s, was always a means of escape for me. I used to hole myself up in my room and spend hours on end concentrating on getting every little detail just right. Over the last 7 or 8 years I have gone through a lot of therapy and personal development I can now see that my drawing style was incredibly rigid and neat because it was the one thing I had complete control over.
“I began creating work that made me feel calm and lost in the moment - a new kind of escapism that was liberating me from my past,”
As my world seemed to crumble around me, I turned inward and started painting again as a way of staying present. This was a place where I could just focus on the now and I began creating work that made me feel calm and totally in the moment - a new kind of escapism that was liberating me from my past.
The free, intuitive abstracts that you see in my gallery today are the result of a long (ongoing) healing process. Being able to let go and work with no premeditated result came totally by surprise but I soon realised that this was my natural style. I coined the term ‘visual meditations’ to describe how I want my work to be used. It is not merely to be hung to fill a gap on the wall (although that is fine!) but to provide stillness in times of stress or bring joy in moments of sadness. If my work can help others to find inner peace too then I have more than succeeded.
As I have honed my work it now straddles two distinct styles: there are the softer, neutral pieces (my go-to colour palette) which encourage quiet contemplation and the (slightly) more colourful Mindscapes which are full of layers to lose yourself in and let your imagination wander.
Mindscape 21.
Mindscape 19.
Either way, my intention is for you to experience the same sense of serenity when viewing them as I get when creating them. Art for the Soul is art that feels like a warm hug, art that whispers, “you’re ok,” and art that makes you want to slow down and let out a deep, relaxing sigh.
Painting has literally been a life saver for me and using my gift to not only maintain my own mental health but to help others heal is now my sole/soul purpose.
In soothing my own soul, I hope I can soothe yours.
Kx