I’ve always enjoyed creative pursuits; drawing, sewing, photography, painting on holiday… but I never thought I could be good at painting. Five year old me definitely wanted to be. But in reality it just became a fun very occasional hobby. When I moved overseas in my mid twenties, I sold all my art supplies, keeping only my camera for travel photos, ready for my next adventure.

Not even a year later, creativity became a kind of therapy for me while living abroad, especially as I dealt with anxiety stemming from past trauma (thanks to an intense series of earthquakes a few years earlier). I started sewing more, building on what I’d learned as a teenager, followed by knitting, then natural dyeing, then weaving... It was a progression of creative outlets that continued when I moved back to New Zealand (along with my husband and our very unimpressed cat, who endured two long-haul flights and quarantine to make the journey.) Looking back, I can see that I was searching for something, my thing. I didn’t realize it at the time, but each new craft was another step in that search, following a thread that would eventually lead me to painting.

Then came 2020. My husband and I had just bought a little bungalow, and painting the exterior became our lockdown project (supervised by the cat, of course). The process of brushing on paint was unexpectedly satisfying, an epiphany, really. It reminded me how much I’d once enjoyed watercolor painting. So I found an online art store still shipping supplies and ordered a few.

My first paintings? Awful. But it was fun. So I kept going. With time on my hands due to lockdown, I had no reason to stop. More than that, I was finding the process of painting surprisingly therapeutic and it became a form of stress relief. Watercolor painting was quick to set up, so I could easily work from my kitchen table whenever I felt like it. I was painting every day. Within two or three months, I had a few pieces I actually really liked. Then, a month later, I sold my first painting—to a stranger, no less. Someone thought my art was worth hanging on their wall. That was a huge pinch-me moment, proof that maybe this thing I loved doing was actually worth pursuing.

And so began the rollercoaster.

In the coming posts I’ll be sharing my own experiences, what I tried, what worked (or didn’t), and what I’ve learned along the way. From experimenting with different techniques to figuring out how to sell art, investing in courses, and dealing with gallery rejections, this is my journey of learning to be an artist (in hindsight of course, I always was an artist, but that realization came much later). I definitely don’t have it all figured out (if there even is such a thing!), and honestly, I don’t think I ever will. But that’s part of what makes this whole thing so interesting.

If you’re curious about what it’s really like to pursue art along with the mistakes, surprises, small victories, and all—I’d love for you to join me. Let’s figure it out as we go.