Struggling To Be Free (sold) Painting

I am an artist living in Denmark Western Australia. I wrote and illustrated a children’s book at the age of 16, “Fat Frogs on a Skinny Log”, and have since illustrated other children’s books for several authors. I graduated the Advanced Certificate of Art and Design at Midland Tafe WA with a certificate of Excellence, and am now a Mother of three children. For years I was unable to put pencil to paper, being a Mother of three, and one with special needs, I felt I couldn’t express what I was feeling with my art. I forced myself in 2013 to draw everyday, even though to start with it was painful, but now I am unable to stop drawing. It has become not just enjoyable, but my longing and my therapy, a need and a relief. In the past my preferred medium was chalk pastels, and I was a realist painter, but didn't find it relaxing and therapeutic. I immersed myself out of my comfort zone with inks and watercolour, and from there my love of mix media and paint has taken off. I love figurative work, and am drawn to feminine beauty, its fragility and its strengths. My work is emotional, as my feelings are being transferred to paper, the mood of my work depends on my mood mostly, it is therapy to me to finally get out these feelings of grief, sadness, hurt, pain, but also love and happiness and strength. I was raised in a religious cult, of which I was unable to speak freely without major consequences, so my art became my voice. Painting my emotions became a part of my every day to be able to cope with the stage of life I was trapped in. Music is also a major influence in my everyday life and my art. I love adding vintage book pages and sheet music into my art giving it stories within the story told in my painting. I have exhibited my art in various exhibitions since 2014 in Australia, and was awarded the mix media award in Bruce Rock. Lately I have been privileged to have my work accepted into the Seattle Erotic Art Festival in April 2017. Currently I am illustrating the fable "Futuro" written by Michael J Bell.