Welcome,

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Welcome,

About 6 - 8 years ago I used to have a passion for photography.

I enjoyed the freedom it gave me and the satisfaction of taking a good picture. I loved it and I spent nearly all of my time doing it.

Some of my photos were exhibited locally and I won some photographic awards for my works.

But, then my life took a turn for the worse and I put down my camera and lost my creative passion almost overnight.

I really did not know what was happening at the time, I just lost my drive, felt isolated, exhausted and most of all angry. I was also having some scary thoughts.

It was during this time that I I was diagnosed with clinical depression and shortly after this I suffered a nervous breakdown.

Well, the other day I went to the library and came across a book written by Arron Cootes and Greg Wilson called "My Brush With Depression". It is a story talking about how Greg had depression and how he struggled to overcome it. It also talks about how he managed to come to terms with his illness through his art. I grabbed the book and read it from cover to cover.

During this time I was also experimenting with my web graphic design and came across Corel Painter X and was immediately attracted to it because I love the freedom of expression it brough to my work.

I simply had to find out more about this exciting software and during my search I stumbled across a Corel Master Painter by the name of Jeremy Sutton. I saw his work and I was hooked!

This all happened within 2 weeks and it inspired me to once again pick up my camera as well as take up a new interest in painting. My passion has been restored and I am once again enjoying my photography and painting. Sometimes I wonder where this passion went, but I am glad it is back.

Now, I don't believe that this was a coincidence and I think this has happened to get me to further explore my passion and to use this as a form of therapy to help me overcome my clinical depression.

Why would I use this as therapy, well it helps me to focus on something that I love, it brings joy to my life and it helps to take my mind of my negative thinking and focus on the moment.

I am especially enjoying Corel Painter and I use this as a traditional artist would and paint with a wacom tablet. I like the way I can experiment and mix the bright colours onto my canvas.

You may notice that some of my paintings are bright, this is done on purpose because I find that bright colours help to lift my spirits. My paintings also reflect my mood when I painted the picture.

I've put this website together to share my creations and to also raise awareness about depression and what art can do to help a person overcome this illness.

I would especially like to thank Greg Wilson for putting out his book, as well as Jeremy Sutton for teaching me the ins and outs of Corel Painter through his books and DVD courses.

Both of these men are exceptional artists and they have both inspired the style I am adopting for my own painting.

I hope you enjoy my website and I especially hope that my photography and art also brings some sunshine to your day.

Have a look around and enjoy!