My Journey to Becoming a Watercolour Teacher

A few years ago, I was on maternity leave looking after my wonderful little boy. I was playing with the idea of not returning to work (at that point I was a researcher for a Children’s charity). Instead, I was considering taking the biggest step outside of my comfort zone that I had ever taken – to follow my passion for art. Having a baby changes the way you see the world. I realised all I wanted to do was to make him happy and to inspire him to follow his own passions and dreams when he grew up. But I knew I had to be brave and be able to do that for myself first!

Now I’ve always been creative. I have dabbled in almost every creative hobby out there over the years. Sewing, card making, baking, sugarcraft – all of which I loved and still do. But at that point on maternity leave, I hadn’t picked up a paintbrush in about 15 years since school. I absolutely loved watercolour back then and I honestly cannot tell you why I hadn’t painted in so long. It just kind of fell off my radar as life took over in my twenties – working, travelling, socialising!

But one day, on maternity leave, I just ordered myself some new brushes and paints and started painting again. I can’t really explain it. It was like I had rediscovered a missing part of me! I felt more like me than I had in a long time. I know that sounds a little bit cheesy but it’s so true! It just felt right. And I know that I won’t be putting those paintbrushes down again anytime soon!

So in July 2018, I published my first class on Skillshare – how to paint feathers.

It was kind of terrifying to be honest! I had taught myself how to film and how to edit in the space of a few weeks. I didn’t get much sleep that month I can tell you! And I have been constantly learning ever since, working on improving my skills and knowledge and trying to make the best quality classes and content for you! At this point, I am proud to say I now have 15 classes on Skillshare, with over 600,000 minutes watched by my students! Again, WOW.

One thing I really love about painting is learning. I’m constantly playing around with different styles and techniques and subjects, and I love to share everything I am learning with you. I love breaking down complicated things into manageable steps, making daunting topics exciting and achievable.

Being creative, especially painting and lettering, also brings me a sense of peace that I have never been able to find with anything else. I love creating fun, beautiful pieces of work that I can be proud of, but it is so much more about the journey and the calm that it brings to me by helping me clear my mind and just focusing on each brush stroke. It’s like a little escape from the world and I just knew I wanted to share that feeling with others!

So, I made the scary decision to not return to work and instead to start my own business and I am so happy that I made that leap! I just felt this overwhelming need to spend as much time as I could being creative and helping to give other people that sense of peace and joy by providing inspiration, motivation and knowledge!

So, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping to make that dream I had back then a reality. My business is only possible because of people like you who follow me on Instagram, take the time to check out my website, watch my classes and support my work! Please know you are so very appreciated!

I’m so excited for what the next few months and years hold and I can’t wait to give you so much more content and be there with you on your creative journey!

Thank you for making this the best job I could ever imagine having 🙂

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