Riding the Vortex Painting

I have painted and drawn since I was old enough to hold a crayon. Creativity has been the driving force in my life, a road I have travelled to learn and grow personally, to make sense of the world, and to share myself with it. I studied Art to Advanced level, though am entirely self taught in one of the mediums I use, Felted Art, paintings made of pure wool, using ancient wet and needle felting methods, though this has been informed by my training. I use a range of mediums: acrylics, pastels, watercolours, graphite, ink, and wool. I paint on various surfaces, including the more obvious ones such as canvas and paper, but also like to use more unusual ones. My most recent has been antique slates from my Cornish stone cottage, which came down due to storms, and are several hundred years old. Inspiration is aided by the shapes and markings on these, as were other backgrounds I've used. I also enjoy painting on a black background in acrylics or pastels, bringing light and colour from nothing, rather than darkening a light surface. I usually depict what is going on in my mind and imagination, my experience of life, the images that come to me and help me process whatever is happening, or to move forwards. I have also done quite a lot of work which I define as Unconscious Art, where I allow my unconscious mind to paint whatever it sees. I do once in a while paint from external life. Realism can be found in my photography, though I do enjoy finding the abstract in that. My favourite subject is nature in all it's forms. I take photos wherever I go, but I live in Cornwall, so many of my images are taken there. Most of my images are taken with my Nikon. These can be found on some of my other sites. Until now I have been a very private artist. While I have sold paintings and taken commissions this has been more word of mouth, with sales to the public from time to time. I have had an invisible barrier which I now remove in order to become visible to the world.