Art and creating was my first love. I was brought up as a vegan with alternative parents who were Budhist. Meditation was a daily practise. I studied Art, alongside Psychology and English at college and went on to train and pursuit a very rewarding career as a Mental Health Nurse for more than 20 years. I also took a further course in Budhism to further my knowledge. I had long established an ability to capture portraits and it was this skill that paid for my social life during my Nurse training period, gaining commission work throughout the hospital as word spread. I trained to be a professional foster carer which my husband and I did for almost ten years alongside raising 3 children and my continued work as a Nurse. Art continued to feature in daily life with all of the young people as well as with my patients in form of rehabilitation and therapy. I used every opportunity I had to use Art as a medium for expression where words couldn’t be found. I became unwell with a nasty virus which left be unable to work for over a year and it was during this time that my husband and I took stock of our lives and what we wanted next. We had poured so many years into helping others, that we had lost touch with the things that were really important to us too. I hung up my nursing boots, handed in my notice as a foster carer and the next exciting chapter in my life unfolded. Most importantly I started painting again. I run an online business selling a vegan, environmentally friendly chalk paint for furniture painters. This began as a way to sell my art – painting on furniture and was very successful, but not enough. I craved the canvas and freedom to find my own style and means of expression. I explored mixed media, which I love and stumbled upon Mindful Painting which was a breath of healing, fresh air. It felt like home and so simply obvious relating back to my childhoods spiritual roots. To simply show up, turn my music on and paint with no agenda and just experience time and again a story unfold on the canvas is incredibly powerful. It has become a way of life to mindfully go about my business, taking note of shapes and colours and remaining present. I now also run a Mindful Painting Art class on line to share my joy.