I Realized That My Life Is Slipping Away So I Embraced My Dream Of Becoming A Painter And I Could Not Be Happier

I used to paint back in high school. And play music and write. I was never discouraged from doing these things I loved – but for some reason I always felt like pursuing an ‘art’ career was not a ‘sensible’ option and having always been the ‘sensible’ kid I headed to uni to study psychology. This line of thinking really turned out to be laughable – as about a year into my degree an opportunity came along and I started a children’s party and event company at the age of nineteen. Yes – probably the LEAST sensible job I could have ever created! Although designing different party accessories definitely fell into the category of a creative industry- it just never felt quite right. And like most small business owners – the administrative side quickly took over and I found myself spending all of my time managing and training staff, book-keeping and project managing….

And when the global financial crisis hit, things definitely got harder and I felt even more stuck in the life I had chosen. And then, in late 2015… I realized that after 15 years in business and the birth of two children my life was disappearing far too quickly and it was time I started embracing what I had really wanted to do my whole life …paint. And so I did. I just got out my paints one day without thinking about it too much – and started painting again. I began closing my business one day a week so I had a ‘day off’ to focus on creating. I had no real goal but to re-connect with the joy I get from just making things. And it’s scary. And amazing. And every day is a challenge. Some days I feel guilty for doing something I love so much… and I worry whether or not people will like my work as much as I love creating it! But I finally feel like i’m giving it a shot – whether it works out or not. Now I don’t go to sleep each night thinking in the back of my mind “What if I’d had the courage to put myself out there and actually paint?”…

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