“We were put here on Earth to act as agents of the infinite, to bring into existence that which is not yet, but which will be through us“

Steven Pressfield

My mission is to capture through art, the spirit and essence of a person, place or thing.

I am self-taught having abandoned any thought of an Art career after I left school. I took up art again 35 years later after going through a period of stress and anxiety. A friend encouraged me to paint as a way of dealing with it. I dug out a box of paints that had been languishing in a cupboard for years and spent a Saturday afternoon painting at the kitchen table and 9 years later here I am telling you about it.

I can honestly say, hand on heart that when I’ve finished my painting session in my kitchen ‘Studio’, if I ask myself the question “So Wendy, can you remember what you were thinking about when you were painting?” The answer nearly always is “I wasn’t thinking about anything, at all”.

This leads me to another important reason why art is important for not just me, but many people. Because I have to really focus on what I am doing. Because I am using my hands I can’t sit there and think and ruminate about ‘stuff’ at the same time. It’s a great way to cope with stress and anxiety.

My belief is that there is a spirit and essence in everything and I am on a journey to capture this in my paintings. When this spirit is captured I feel lifted up, inspired and in a state of bliss.

I first experienced this blissful feeling when I visited Florence with my sisters. I discovered the statues which stand outside the Uffizi Gallery. One in particular caught my eye and I was transfixed by his face. I could have stood there for hours. It was like meeting a real person. The look in his eyes was incredible, full of personality and intelligence. Art did that! An artist made that happen!

This essence and spirit binds us all together. Anyone who steps off a train when arriving in London will feel the spirit of the city immediately. It’s the spirit of London which ensured it’s survival after the Great Fire of London in 1066, and the Blitz in WW2. Some Lanes and Alleys in London are over 1,000 years old and refuse to be built over, so the building contractors have to keep them! This spirit remains in its ancient artefacts and buildings.

I am sure you will have at some point visited an historical building and picked up on the spirit of the place, or maybe sensed something about it. Some people are tuned into this vibration more than others of course. I’ve had a few experiences like this which have been quite profound.

I believe that a sculpture preserves the spirit of the person who made it which is timeless. So, through art you can transcend the present, enter another world, and reach through to the beyond – and experience another realm of beauty, harmony, and serenity.

I still paint on my kitchen table. One day I will have a larger space, but it will do for now.

Wendy x