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How many times do we read of artists who were always drawing when they were children? How many of you believe that you have to be born with special artistic abilities to ever be able to paint well?

I used to marvel at the artwork that one of my older sisters did.  She just seemed to have a natural ability to draw. Added to that, we all admired her work which I'm sure encouraged her to produce ever better drawings.  Our father also painted in his younger days and all my siblings seemed to be artistically inclined. I wanted to be good at it too but my efforts were stick figures and paper-dolls clothes ... and not very good ones at that. 

Travelling, skiing, tramping (hiking) and photographing all these experiences made me want to paint them, so when my children were young, I went to some art classes.  My results were very amateurish. It seemed that I had missed the art gene.  Only one sketch gave me any hope.  It was a little watercolour of a wild rose that I painted en plein air out in the great back-country of New Zealand. I treasured that little painting all through the years of earning a living in the big world of the education sector, in the hope that one day I might have a real go at painting.

  Wild Rose at Ohau, NZ

You see, something inside me wanted to paint, even though I had no idea if I'd ever be able to do it well.

Roll on through the years of working and of watching my children grow into adults and leave home.  Then suddenly, I had the opportunity of extra time when I left my job and we went to live in the UK for a few years. We did a lot of travelling in Europe and I also (nervously) joined an art group in our little North Yorkshire town of Skipton.  I enjoyed the artistic company and surprisingly, I also found that painting on a weekly basis was actually producing some pleasing results.  Practising my artwork was improving it ... just like all the art books tell you! 

Back home to New Zealand and into the working world of education again. However, this time I kept up painting 'as time permitted' and (more confidently this time) I joined an art group. I toyed with the idea in my head of becoming an artist.

Disaster struck!  Beginning in September 2010 we had a series of major earthquakes in which people lost lives, homes, jobs, workplace buildings etc.  As a city, we began trying to rebuild our lives and fighting all the bureaucracy which is still ongoing! As for me (and many others), I took stock of my life and decided that if I was ever going to do this art thing, that I should just get on with it.

In 2013 I got really serious:

1)  My wonderful (especially for artists) FASO website was set up

2) I made the committment to improve speed and skills by tackling 100 paintings in 100 days

3) I announced to all who would listen that I was now a fulltime artist

4) I began entering shows and exhibitions on a regular basis

5) I created a gallery space in a gamesroom in my home and invited people to visit

6) Most of all, I painted, painted and painted regularly!

I am now represented by a number of galleries and have had some success both in New Zealand and overseas.  My journey shows that you don't have to be born gifted.  The more you do your artwork, the more your work will improve.

The moral of this story is that if you want to become an artist, then don't wait for disasters to strike or your health to deteriorate, even if it's what is generally considered as 'late in life' ... as soon as you can possibly do it, just get on with being an artist!

  Summertime at Tata Beach in Golden Bay, NZ