I studied art at university back in 1988. Then advertising came calling, marketing followed, and somewhere in the next 35 years I stopped painting entirely.
Not because I stopped loving it. Just because life had other plans.
Fast forward to last year and I was CMO of a global business, running a team I was proud of, doing work that genuinely mattered to me. It wasn’t a bad life by any stretch. But somewhere in the back of my head, a quieter version of me was still standing in a studio, brush in hand.
The decision crystallised in December. I sat down with my boss Colin, one of the best I’ve ever worked with, and we worked out a way for me to step away properly. He made something that could have been complicated feel straightforward. I’m genuinely grateful for that.
Most people understood. Some raised an eyebrow at leaving a role like that. But when you explain that you’ve spent 35 years doing the sensible thing and you’re ready to stop, most people get it. A few admitted they wished they could do the same.
The first week in the studio was terrifying. I’d missed creativity more than I’d realised and that part felt immediately right. The painting itself was another matter. Much of the early work was overpainting failed canvases, trying to find my way back to something. Not all of it was good. Honestly, very little of it was.
What helped was proper training. I worked with Ciara Gilmore, one of the most respected artists working in intuitive abstract painting today. Ciara’s course gave me more than technique. She helped me understand how to make work that comes from within rather than from trying to reproduce what’s in front of you. That was the shift that changed everything. I can’t overstate how much she taught me, both about painting and about trusting your own instincts as an artist.
A year in, I feel like an artist. Not someone who used to do art, or who paints as a hobby. An artist. Over fifty original paintings sold, a studio practice that feels real, and work I’m genuinely proud of.
The gravy train was comfortable. But this is better.
