From a very young age, I fell in love with art - initially in the sense that I loved to create it. I loved to paint, draw, print, make a wonderful mess with pretty much any material I could get my hands on.

I remember first feeling a sense of ‘success’ in art when my primary teacher, Mr Biggin, set up a still life table and could not stop telling everyone how amazing my drawing of a flower was. That experience has never left me, although my parents and I are baffled as to where that sketch (lovingly framed and displayed) has gone. It almost doesn’t matter because the feeling has always stayed with me - that feeling of pride and of bring joy to others with something that I made.

As I progress through school, I became more aware of famous artists (all dead of course) but the scale of things that I saw on school trips to galleries and the way these creative should were revered stunned me. Still, it was a hobby and I never considered that I would make a career out of it because ‘art ids only worth something after they’re dead.’ This is a phrase I heard from many adults, presumably in an attempt to help ,e understand it wasn't;t a proper job and not get my hopes up too high that they would be shattered.

There are a few early gallery experiences that I recall, including a day trip to London galleries with college - my effervescent and eccentric tutor Bev leading the way never lacking energy and passion. I grew up not far from Liverpool so I was aware of the Tate Gallery from a young age,. Having said that, it didn't;t feel like a building I could enter, we just saw it when we visited the fudge shop on the docks. In high school, however, I finally made it through the rotating doors. I was in total awe - the scale of the place, the variety of art, not just in frames but also sculpture, projects and much more, and the fact that some of these people were STILL ALIVE!!!! On that trip, I discovered the joy of an art postcard, collecting a little bit of the creative genius to take home.

Some artists have stuck with me more than others…