Picking Up the Pencil Again: My Journey Back to Art

Art has been part of my life for as long as I can remember — but it’s only recently that I’ve been able to return to it after a long and difficult break. This is the story of how I lost, and slowly reclaimed, my creative voice.

Growing Up with Art

I'm a 40 something mother of 2 adult sons. I live with my husband and 2 dogs, on the edge of the beautiful Cotswolds. My favorite medium for art is graphite pencils, but I also enjoy using pastels and digital art. I grew up around art. My dad was an artist, painting seascapes and ships, in oils on canvas. Drawing and sketching was something I started very early in life. I went on to study art & design at AS level and also fine art at A level. Never really loosing the bug I had for art. Its not just about creating a finished piece for me, its looking -  REALLY looking - at the all the little details, shapes, textures and structures that can be seen, if you look through the eyes of an artist.

From Cross Stitch to Character Design

I've also enjoyed different creative hobbies over the years, then one day, my passion for cross stitch merged with my art and I created a range of characters to turn into cross stitch kits.  Creating characters was a whole knew world for me, as an artist. I had to adjust to replicating what I could see with my eyes, to drawing what I could only see in my mind. As I got the hang of it, I developed more characters and really started to get hooked on the entire design aspect. I developed my own way of turning the characters into cross stitch kits, without using an automated programme. I wanted to have control of the entire process to keep the designs as my mind envisioned. I started to manufacture counted cross stich kits, form 3 ranges of my own characters, in addition to taking commissions for pet portraits, which I used to complete in pastels. Things were going well.

Then I Got Ill

I lost my business, the ability to remember how to work a computer and even struggled to hold a pencil. For the last 10 years, I've been learning to do everything again, learning to walk, to read, to use a computer and the scariest thing of all - to pick up a pencil again and see if I could still draw.

Relearning to Create

It turns out I can! I can't draw for long, but i'm working on it and as I do, I will be adding to my portfolio.

Why I’m Sharing This

This isn't a story of self pity or for sympathy, its a story to give you hope and inspiration. A story of resilience. To remind you, if you’re going through something difficult, or feel like you’ve lost part of yourself: it’s never too late to start again. Don't give up.