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My story in the art world is an unconventional one. No formal art school, no illustrative instruction, just a lifelong love of observation, of faces, of form, of colour and light.

When I was a little girl, my parents first noticed my ability to draw in kindergarten. I remember the magic of discovering that blue and yellow made green, and red and blue made purple. As I grew older I'd fill the margins of my school books with doodles - horses first, then the characters from The Lion King. By high school I was a self-confessed nerd, obsessed with video games. My first humanoid sketch was Cloud from Final Fantasy VII. I became known as the ‘anime girl’.

Eventually, realism crept into my sketches. But once school was over, I put down my pencils. Years passed. Nobody knew about my past life, my love of form, my quiet obsession with drawing. I worked in fields that valued income generation over creative freedom.

That is, until my son Carter was born. Something about holding him reminded me of the girl I once was. I borrowed a simple set of watercolours from a friend… and just like that, the plug found the socket again.

It was electric. Watercolour led to acrylic, and acrylic led me to oils, which where I found my real home. Bold colour, layered brushwork, the intention behind every soft and hard edge. I loved it completely. Before I knew it I was showing in galleries, and within a year had landed my debut solo exhibition at Sequel Gallery, featured in GT Magazine.

Now I'm stepping into wedding painting, and honestly, where else would I be? To immortalise one of the most meaningful moments in a person's life, with the same obsession for likeness and feeling that's always driven me.

That's the whole story. Well…the beginning of it, anyway.