I’ve always been happiest when I’m being creative. I left school and developed a career in design, but continued to draw and paint in my spare time and regularly sold commissions.
In early 2014 I gave up my full-time design job to pursue my passion of painting. We converted an old brick shed at the bottom of the garden into a modest studio and I started painting more seriously.
In late 2017 I started to notice weakness in my right hand and slight changes in my dexterity and movement. In early 2018 I went to my GP and I was referred to the Neurology dept. In June 2018 I got the extremely unexpected news that at the age of 47 I had young onset Parkinson’s disease. I got the formal diagnosis on September 12th 2018. (In the UK, there are less than 48 per 100,000 women (under 50-years-old) living with the condition (Parkinson’s UK). I’m determined to keep going, and enjoy my creative practice and continue my work to raise awareness of the condition and what it means to me. This is my online space to record, explore and share my experiences.
