March 2026

This month, I thought I’d take a moment to look back. Ironically, I’m looking back to hopefully help me understand how things may look in the future. We are going to travel back to February 2022.

In February of that year I left my permanent teaching position to “pursue” a career in art. I actually remember that I was scared making this decision. There was the nagging feeling of what if this doesn’t work out. The feeling of am I silly to leave something that gave me such security. I also cared too much about what other people thought!

I tend to take time with decisions, not entirely sure why, but I do. I actually intended to hand my notice in before Christmas 2021 but ended up doing it towards the end of January 2022. A month later I was packing up my desk and I was plunging my way into the art world. I’m so happy looking back that I had the courage to do it but I had so much to learn and I feel like I still do!

I had applied to be part of a group exhibition in Bideford, Devon, around the time I left my job. It felt right to me, even though it was so far away and there was no guarantee of making any sales. There was probably a touch of naivety on my part but looking back, I would not change anything. I remember how excited I was to be accepted and how adventurous it felt to be travelling with my art in the back of my car. It felt very freeing.

At the same time, one of my former colleagues at school also commissioned me to paint a scene of the Hermitage as a wedding present for one of their friends. It felt amazing to have the backing and support of someone I had previously worked with. I also made my first sale through TikTok and when I delivered the painting to the customer I was able to spend some time with them. We actually chatted for a long time and through that conversation we agreed on a separate commission of the Eiffel Tower with the words 'l'amour c'est l'amour' written in the sky. Given the fact I had just left language teaching I couldn't believe the connection. It was a clear sign that I was on the right path, although not an easy path.

Around this time, I was also trying to think of other ideas to promote my artwork and to make it more accessible. I launched my first raffle for an original painting, with proceeds going to SAMH, Scottish Action for Mental Health. It was through these raffles that I have managed to strike up a relationship with the charity and now I am currently working on pieces of artwork linked to the hundred year anniversary of the charity. The project I'm working on is combining the map of Scotland with the portrait of Dr Kate Fraser, who was the original founder of the charity.

Our agreed approach to this project would be that the process would be as important as the outcome. That's because of a shared belief that if there is too much focus and pressure on the outcome, we may lose out on something along the way. I'd discussed with the charity that I believe the act of creation has benefits to wellbeing and how you feel. Therefore if I were to produce artwork for the charity then the goal would be to inspire other people to think differently around ideas that something should look a certain way and that it's okay to try different versions to allow for development and growth. At one point in the discussion between myself and SAMH, I mentioned that I may create one hundred versions of the artwork to represent the hundred years of the charity and also the fact that people change and grow over time.

The thought behind the hundred versions here was to take away pressure from the project, increase wellbeing, presence, allow for discussion and experimentation and see what comes out of it, rather than having a really fixed idea right from the start. It remains to be seen whether I complete one hundred versions or not and it isn't important whether or not I do. The project may evolve differently given time.

That said, I feel like I very much have evolved as an artist since February 2022. The more important thing to me now is thinking about how I can help people through art. I think I had a version of that thought in my mind four years ago, but definitely not as clear as I do now. I'm definitely more focused on how I can help others through art, rather than it being solely an individual pursuit.