I believe I have the best job in the world as an artist, so here’s a bit of a sneak peak into what makes up my days!

I wake up each morning to a cup of tea from Peter. He gets up much earlier than I do, but he’s not brave enough to wake a sleeping artist! I am not a morning person, so; if possible, I don’t get up in a hurry. At around 9am, I wander outside with my little bestie – my Tibetan Spaniel ‘Summer’, to enjoy the outdoors and nature for a little while. Next, I do a few chores, including emails, setting up my paints, jotting down any new ideas or plans for my painting day, and then I’m ready to begin.

Time to get into the ‘zone’

I love to feel the atmosphere in the studio before I start to paint, so that I am comfortable and relaxed to do what I love. Depending on my mood, I may put on some music, warm some essential oils or light up a couple of candles – and I let plenty of natural light into my studio. I reflect on how lucky I really am for this to be my job. I thrive on creativity, which surrounds me every single day and I love it so much!

My favourite things in the world to paint are portraits – especially of animals! The ‘eyes’ are always the first thing I paint so that my subject can watch me as I create something special – their very own character and expression. Even though I have a plan and a picture in my head of what my painting will look like when I have finished, I also let spontaneity take over. My ‘practical’ plan will be a combination of my cartooning/caricature studies, as well as some fine art to make my subjects look ‘real’. I love using acrylic paint and either a coloured or white textured background for my quirky, happy art, and I love a coloured or black background for my fine art paintings (which can be in acrylics, oils, or pastels – depending on the look I want to achieve). But surprises and ‘happy accidents’ are welcome as I paint, so I often just let things flow from my heart, or paint with my instincts.

Often I feel total happiness, sometimes love, or peace; or I will find myself having a giggle as I paint my animals while they wait patiently for me to create them. With little breaks in between sessions, I paint all day and well into the night to add to my collection of works – it’s often after midnight before I crawl into bed feeling exhausted but wonderfully fulfilled.

Not every day is spent in the studio – the artist gets to leave her house sometimes! ‘Out of studio’ days are unpredictable; I could be out shopping when I bump into a friend for a quick coffee and a catch up. Or, I could be attending a function or fundraiser for one of the charities that I support and I get the chance to make new connections with guests and dignitaries. Either way, I meet amazing and interesting people everywhere I go.

‘Field days’ are heaps of fun too, because I get to make new friends with the beautiful animals that I want to paint. By meeting them, I get to see their personalities and quirks so that I can capture these in my artwork. I do lots of sketches and take photos to capture special moments. Then, when I am at home I can look at my field resources to reflect on the precious souls that I met to make sure that they look fantastic on the canvas.