As a child I attempted painting, but what I produced looked ugly to me, so I filed it forever into my "I can't do that" box. I was always arty however, and over the decades I've drawn with pencils and pens and a pokerwork machine on wood. In my late teens I enjoyed wood turning on a lathe, and in my 20's, hand-carving wood was my passion.

After picking up a caregiving/cleaning job in my 30's, I didn't feel fulfilled, and while not thinking about art at all, an intriguing process began to unfold, bringing me new direction.

I became absorbed with the paintings I saw dotted around various homes I cleaned, and I found myself critiquing them as I worked. This quickly grew to seeing paintings everywhere I went, as though an invisible flag waved in front of them. And that's quite likely true. Sometimes driving past cafes or shopfronts, a glimpse through a window was all it took to imprint a painting in my mind and I'd spend the next few kilometers reflecting... "It had no focal point... but the colours were lovely... if only there was a dash of red... and..."

I didn't know what was happening to me, but my Heavenly Father did.

For a year this grew in intensity, until one day in spring 2010, while vacuuming and gazing into a painting I'd grown particularly frustrated with, I finally said in my heart "If she can do it, I can do it... but I can also fix it."

Feeling like I might explode if I didn't put legs to this resolve immediately, I arranged a brief painting session with a friend who painted as a hobby, then dashed off to buy basic art supplies and drove home quivering to figure it all out.

The first revelation was that I could paint. My decades old belief was wrong. And after years of carving 3D images into wood, the addition of colours dazzled me.

The Holy Spirit spoke to me while I painted and told me how to angle the brush, how to blend, about colour and form. There were moments on many days that followed where I was so happy I had to put down my brush and dance around the room.

For the first 2 years using acrylics, I could paint nothing but flowers. Then I changed to oils and expanded my horizons.

An online course in 2020 to learn a unique style of acrylic pouring, added a satisfying depth of wildness and freedom to my art journey.

Since painting found me, I've come to appreciate that the real reason we wake each day is about being in harmony with who we are; and the fulfillment that flows from it enhances life in an often painful world.

How painting found me began in 2009 while working as a cleaner.

But a little background first...