My Journey

I have been so lucky to get the opportunity to school in France from the age of 8. There, the love of representing life in art was grafted into me. Then life happened and, against all odds, I started a career in software engineering, which taught me all I know about computers. When more life happened, I trained to become a professional photographer and discovered the fantastic creative world of digital manipulations. And when more life happened, I discovered my vision while going through severe health issues. Finally, the circle closed as I established myself as an artist with a camera. Yet, for years, I struggled with sharing, blogging and posting about my art.

Peaceful GlensheeGlenshee, Perthshire, Scotland

Even though everything in my life had prepared me for that moment… and I knew I had all the right skills… and confidence in my vision… and I knew that being an artist was what I deeply wanted to do… and my art attracted a good level of interest, including from art galleries; yet, at least one piece of the puzzle appeared to be missing. The stories that accompanied that art were bland, lifeless, uninteresting and uninspiring. They really did not say anything about me or even why my art existed, which are the interesting parts; they simply explained how the image was made. And yet, I was a firm believer that what matters is not so much what you put into the piece of art you create, the meaning, the message; other people will see it differently anyway, everyone will hear a different song and feel it their own way. Yet, I just could not figure out the answer.

Never Reaching The EndBroughty Ferry Beach, Dundee, Scotland

Then, Covid happened. As the world and life came to a halt, I decided to take this opportunity to find the missing pieces of my puzzle. And a lot happened. The pain of the isolation… the constant worries… the feelings of helplessness… life trapped in the mind… in survival mode… for me, there were also months of hell when my daughter was at death’s door… my rising into a fearsome warrior, journeying to hell and back to save her life… plunged deep into psychology and the unbelievable wonders of the digestive system to understand and find a way to help her help herself… the shock shaking my health at atom level like a powerful earthquake… the necessary damage control… the ensuing awakening to a life with denials and lies… the tickled curiosity about how the mind works… why we see, say and do the things we see, say and do… how we chose our life path… how the mind affects the physical body… how we can take control. And, it was really when I undertook relevant courses in support of my quest that the pieces of the puzzle I had been collecting along the way finally found their place in the sturdy structure provided… and the whole picture slowly unravelled… and transformation occurred without quite my knowledge./font>

Early Morning Glow Over Shee WatersGlenshee, Perthshire, Scotland

And I discovered that the main piece of the puzzle that was missing was me. It was always me. I did not know myself enough, who I truly was. I could not share my art simply because it was born from so much pain, scars deep inside me, wanting to heal… not knowing how… finding hope into my creations. And I could not share that pain because I had been conditioned to believe that it would be unprofessional and negative… that people did not care… I could not share why it was always when my heart hurt the most that I could capture and create beautiful pieces, like a door which opens to secrets, sipping through the landscape like whispers blown across by the wind. That deeper part of myself which directs my moves and my choices, reflects my soul and projects all its sides into my creations remained locked in.

Glenshee, Perthshire, Scotland

Now, I know why it matters to share this and never to shy away sharing feelings because feelings are what we are in its purest form. I now know that, through my art images, I do not share the pain. Pain is simply the catalyst to my art, not what defines it.

My art is an integral part of who I am. After discovering Intentional Camera Movement or ICM, and the work of Roxanne Bouche’ Overton in 2018, I was inspired beyond imagination by this style of photography. Over time, my images started to be reminiscent of the work of the impressionist painters of the 19th Century, Turner, Cezanne, Monet, Morisot, Pissaro and Van Gogh, to name just a few. I have always been attracted to their intense colour vibrations, the way they visualised movement and the unusual angles they used. I find it ironic that I should create art images with my camera that are inspired by these painters when some 150 years ago, impressionism was born from the challenging feeling that photography was lessening the painters’ skills in reproducing reality.

Glenshee, Perthshire, Scotland

While on this journey, I have also become a Life Story Coach and a Hypnotherapist. These were part of the missing pieces of the puzzle that now complete me. Finding peace through understanding how the things that happened to me are influencing me, what matters and what does not; how they have shaped me into who I am; how they have shaped my art images. Now and everyday, life is a growth opportunity and, since that realisation, I have been constantly moving forward. I feel unstoppable.

Balmoral EstateBalmoral, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

I love helping people and I do so in two ways.

As a life coach and hypnotherapist, I help them understand themselves and find the missing pieces of their puzzles; I help them change their life, like I did, know the truth, accept who they are, without the lies and denials; I let them see the good in the bad and I help them twitch what they want twitched in order to understand who they truly are and transform their life (and maybe their art) into what they truly want it to be.

And as an artist, I create art that speaks straight to our souls, seeking those feelings that matter to us and make us feel human, each piece of my art acting like a little mirror that reflects our own being, ultimately bringing the inspiration of nature into your home and your office.

And when I achieve this, I am who I am supposed to be.

Looking NorthBankfoot, Perthshire, Scotland