If you could do anything what would you do?

I'd paint and write EVERY day. One of my life goals is to create a life where I have a sustainable income from my creativity and was able to help others achieve their projects.

I've set a few goals around that. One was to expand my creative practice to more than murals. Two and a half years ago I started a "Friday night Painting Practice", we'd get takeaway for dinner and at 6.30pm I'd start painting from a photo I'd taken.

30 months later I have a series of paintings called 'Otautahi, a New Perspective' of my home, Christchurch (and surrounds).

I didn't over think it, I just took photos of places that inspired me (usually architectural elements or interesting landscapes) and kept painting until I felt 'finished' usually sometime after midnight. 

During this time I also had a 'creative buddy'✨. We shared what we were both working on and had individual goals for how often we would create a finished piece. This was really helpful, particularly when life got off track (and it did!) because there was always someone there inspiring me to pick up the brush again when I was feeling lost creatively.

Late last year, when I was thinking about 2026, I knew I wanted to include more income from my art practice. I had been to The Christchurch Art Show  every year since 2020 and always loved the idea of entering - so late one night I bit the bullet and submitted examples of my work. I was beyond delighted when I was accepted as an exhibiting artist a few weeks later!!

The show is on May 1-3, five weeks away, so I'm busy framing, getting my work photographed and adding the ability to purchase prints on my website. It's a big investment, and it's all very exciting!   

Over the past decade I've worked to slowly incorporate elements of my favourite past time into my business (first murals and now fine art) and I'm hopeful that this is another step in the right direction toward achieve my life goals.

#creative #practice #otautahianewperspective #career #businessdevelopment