Inspiration

Most of my creative pursuits are inspired by the chronic pain experience and trauma experiences. There is a drive to try to communicate the intensity of that experience in various ways. Either with coping or with not coping quite as well. If I do an expressive portrait in charcoal it is because I want to show that feeling. If I do something more fluid in acrylic I may do more emoting with colour choice and other dynamics to express an experience or feeling.

Also, creative pursuits are one way to escape the pain for a time. I need something that is just for me I can focus from to distract me from the pain. And you can lose yourself in art. And in writing as well. As long as the pain intensity isn’t at an intolerable level. So art and other forms of creativity have been one way for me to cope with the pain experience. Almost a necessary thing in my life really. Pain is so all consuming that without something to pour that intensity into- it can eat away at you in so many ways. Eroding all parts of your sense of self and emotional well-being. So I need healthy outlets.

But my actual inspiration has always been an elusive and intuitive thing. I have always created- because I must. A lot my novel ideas come from dreams. It isn’t like I sit and plot ideas. They just- manifest. How I get from A to B is a mystery to me sometimes.

My Process

As an artist I’m pretty explorative. In the sense that I’m self-taught and I have never taken an art class. So I explore a lot of new ideas and methods as I find them. Or new ideas as I come up with them. New tools that may or may not be typical. I will continue to experiment as I go along.

You can see my process on Instagram reels and TikTok when I show some of what I do with my projects.