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Hello

    My Story

    Art is in everything. Artists play a unique role in society; and many, if not most, will paint, draw, do art in whatever form - for the love of it and not the money. Not that artists don't wish to 'make a living' from their work, it's just really very hard to achieve it, to make it as an artist. There's also the consideration about the commercialising of their work, the fact that it could compromise artistic freedom.
     

    Being an artist is a struggle. It's not just about poverty though. The struggle is getting heard, getting seen, getting up again when you've been knocked down, or pushed aside.

    I didn't wish to be an artist. Even from school age, I didn't even take the o'Level. Both Grandparents on my mother's side were art teachers after having met at the Royal college of Art; their son, my Uncle, became an artist, and my Dad became an artist (perhaps, with my Dad, it was a rebellious act to annoy his father who was a bit macho and an engineer).

     

    Being close to my Dad, I saw how he struggled as an artist, and also produced some incredibly intelligent artwork, but his struggle sadly led him to discard his whole body of work when he was in his sixties, he put the whole lot in a skip to be thrown away. That's an indication of the pain of it, and that is what I grew up with.

     

    My foray into the art world is relatively recent. I tentatively took an art studio about ten years ago because I had been doing art for therapy for a number of years and I had in mind how I would like to paint. I knew I needed tuition and one of my pet loves was to learn - even just for the sake of learning - so I endeavoured to be among other artists, to develop myself and my practice and learn.

     

    As I travelled that road, I started to see the massive expanse of the world of art, I was intrigued by other artists and most of all I struggled and am still struggling for recognition - not of myself necessarily - but of the distinct and vital role artists play in life and the regeneration of it.

     

    Thanks for visiting my website 'Word to the Sophie 2'. I sometimes wear a badge that says "make art not friends", but in reality I would be hard pushed to forego friendship over art. Love, health and friendship are things that give us the nourishment to survive, and survive we must.

     

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