Every artist has an origin story, and mine didn't begin in a studio — it began at a kitchen table, with a pencil and a biology textbook I had long since stopped reading for its intended purpose.
Armed with a background in biology, I discovered an aptitude for drawing almost by accident: the diagrams I copied by hand taught me that I could see, and that seeing could be translated onto paper. That quiet revelation stayed with me.
Three words carried me: determination, desire and dedication.
From hobby to practice
After becoming a mother of two, I returned to art with new purpose. What had been a hobby became a practice. I focused first on my favourite subject — portraiture — and committed to drawing every day, even when the days were long.
I refused to confine myself to a single medium. Graphite, charcoal, pastels, watercolour, acrylics, pen work — each one taught me something the others couldn't. Rather than a weakness, that restlessness became the spine of my practice.
If you're at the start of your own journey, my advice is simple: begin where you are, with whatever you have, and let curiosity — not perfection — lead. The rest follows.
