PAINTING THE
silver lining As a Headhunter in the advertising industry we’ve been hit badly by the pandemic. Like so many others, overnight, I went from working long busy days in London to having all our clients simultaneously slamming the brakes on. I’ve always known that I would be happier having more time at home with my girls and focussing more on my art but I didn’t quite expect it to happen so abruptly. At first I think I went into a sort of slow state of shock. What if we can’t afford the mortgage? What about our fragile parents? Surely I can’t look after the children full-time? That was never the plan! And home-school the dyslexic one who’s 8 going on 18? With a toddler in tow? No thanks. I drank too much, shouted a lot and cried whenever I got 2 minutes to sit down. But something happened. Amongst the darkness and the uncertainty, I realised that this was an opportunity not to be missed. I’ve always been a painter, ever since I could remember. It was my childhood dream to be an artist - but who really gets to do that as a real life grown up job? Every so often one of my friends will commission me to do a piece for them but now I had the chance to really make something of this. I paint in the morning when there is not a sound; lockdown peace was beautiful. I would paint for 2 hours before someone asked me to make them breakfast, or wipe their bum. When I became confident enough to play with the home-schooling timetable we all did art together, every day, in the garden. The endless bike rides, picnics in meadows and walks along the rivers that the lockdown offered us only fed my mind with new inspiration. Family life entwined with my work. I produced lots of pieces and could experiment with techniques now that I had the time and the clarity of mind to do so. I was properly living in the here and now for the first time. During the last few months I’ve moved my hobby up a gear to proper artist territory and making a (sort of) living, and it is the best thing that could have happened. So, hopefully, this is my silver lining to this dark, heavy cloud, and I can continue on this journey that maybe, just maybe, I was meant to be on all along. So please do check out my art and get in touch if you’re interested in adding a little bit of happiness to your walls. 10% of each purchase will be donated to Mind, a charity which will be much in need and one that I wholly support. We must protect our mental health. In the meantime, perhaps think about reigniting your own passion – that’s how I’ve protected mine.
www.instagram.com/samanthapeaceart 14 LookLocal - SEPTEMBER 2020
