I grew up surrounded by a family business, this led me to study a degree in Design and Marketing, allowing me to apply my creative mindset to a practical career path. It was during this time I learnt strong digital design and editing skills that have since become useful in my everyday creative pursuits. After spending many years working across different mediums and trying to find one that resonated with me, (a journey I am sure every artist has been on!), I decided it was time to dedicate myself to building a skillset in one specific area. I chose watercolour.

I set myself a goal. Complete one painting a week for an entire year. It had to be achieveable so I would create them in A5. I needed to be connected to the subject to maintain my motivation, so I chose landscapes, not just any landscapes. Places I had been, places that resonated with me. So I printed out photos I had taken, realizing in the process that I had closer to 100 than 52. It didn’t matter, I printed them anyway. I was determined to eliminate any opportunity for procrastination so I numbered them all. This was the order I was to complete them, I even noted paint supply rewards I could treat myself with when I reached specific milestones.

Over the course of the next year I balanced the early years of my career with dedicating time to building a mini portfolio of sorts. Painting beach scenes, cityscapes and outback landscapes in watercolour. During that time I took note of landscapes I enjoyed painting the most, brushes and techniques that worked best for me and of colours I found myself ‘drawn’ to. Excuse the pun. My work evolved and I redicovered my love of colour and form. I discovered my artistic style in this time and found that it was quite maximalist, incorporating vibrant colours and loud details.