I'm 34 and living in Dawesville, Mandurah Western Australia. I'm a self-taught artist and failed art in high school. Actually, I think I relieved an "E" on the report card. Is that worst than an F? Who knows. Could have had something to do with me painting/drawing what I wanted, not what I was told. Not much has changed. For the first 10 years After leaving high school, I hardly painted or drew a thing. My confidence was low and I never finished anything I started. At around 27 I picked up my pencils and committed to finishing anything I started. I promised myself to finish anything I started even if I hated it. I'm so glad I did that because it taught me about " the ugly stage". I feel like everyone has that ugly stage in their work where it's not quite looking it's best and all the fear and doubt creeps in over if it will even work. Then you push through and of course it does. I never knew that. I gave up before even trying. Now things are different and I've over come that hurdle.
Then there was the next challenge. Style. It's taken me about 6 or 7 years to find "my style". I was always looking for a short cut and hoping I'd find it over night. But all the advice I received was, unfortunately, correct it takes a lot of work and a lot of time. I also get bored easily so I'm not sure if that helped or hindered.
The work I've submitted, My most recent work feels like the closest to "my style" I've ever got. I love patterns on patterns, muted, dirty colors and fabric. So they feature heavily in each work. The women in the painting represent myself I guess. Ive always been content in my own space with my thoughts, I can go weeks pottering around the house without seeing another human. A lot of people have questioned if this is healthy for my mental health and shone a negative light on having so much alone time. So I wanted to celebrate it. It doesn't have to be a bad thing to want to spend long periods with just yourself. I find that I grow as a person in the stillness.
