About me
You will find out more about my artistic journey here and on my vulnerable blog post on painting and healing.
May my series the colours of my life and my inspiration page also be a source of joy and inspiration for you.
Feeling the Light
Since my childhood in the South-West of France, I’ve found solace and peace in nature: watching the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, admiring the dance of sun and clouds in a stormy sky, the colors in a single flower, or the contrasts between darkness and light – moved deeply by the moment which will never be again, locking it in my heart. Connected to the universe.
Feeling the Light.
Reconciled with the visual arts through motherhood
I started to play around with pencils and crayons after my daughter Charlotte was born in 2010.
Inspired by her budding creativity and encouraged by people close to my heart, I started to express myself on paper and canvas.
Through painting, I’ve found a new language.
In the words of American artist Georgia O’Keefe, “saying things with color and shapes that I could not say any other way – things I had no words for“.
I’ve always been “feeling the light”, the inner as well as the outer light.
The video below is an introduction to my art under the motto „Feeling the Light“. It’s in German, but you can choose to have subtitles in English, French or German – or none if you just want to enjoy as is.
My creative side – Art as a way of life
I’ve sung and danced as far as I can remember.
I love to play the piano even if I don’t practice much.
I’m a Thespian, having acted in several amateur plays in French at university, and in English for the Hamburg Players since 2006.
I have directed plays, Snake in the Grass by Alan Ayckbourn in 2007 and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams in 2009, Death in High Heels and Calendar Girls in 2019.
I’m a keen photographer, particularly fond of sunsets, breaking waves, cloudy skies and all shades and shapes of trees, leaves, branches and flowers.
My long journey to intuitive painting
I have no formal training in the visual arts.
Colour love
I’ve always loved colour and painted a lot in my early childhood, but I was discouraged in art classes in high school by an awkward teacher and a less than inspiring curriculum, taking away the magic of creating.
So I stopped exploring with colour on paper at that point, satisfying my love of colour by wearing brightly-coloured clothes, splashes of pink, orange, turquoise, red, yellow and green and soaking up all the colours around me through photography.
Sources of inspiration
Over the years, I’ve been particularly touched by the paintings of Klimt, Cézanne, Monet, Chagall and Matisse. And the beautiful colours in nature all around me, gardens, parks, rivers and seascapes have continued to quench that thirst for colour.
Reconciliation with painting through watercolour
In 2013, I was lucky that my sister in law Caroline Berry, a watercolour artist, introduced me to her medium of predilection when I visited her in Gabon.
Her gentle guidance and introduction to watercolour reconciled me with paint.
I even bought myself my own set of watercolour and brushes in 2014 when I returned from vacation. I haven’t stopped experimenting with watercolour ever since.
Drawing
In 2014, I decided to take the Betty Edward’s Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain course and started to feel more and more at ease with looking at the world through shapes and shades and light and dark contrasts.
The Artist’s Way
The major revelation on my journey as an artist in December 2014 was the book by Julia Cameron « The Artist’s Way » which reconnected me deeply with my creativity.
It’s through my “Morning Pages” that in January 2015, I realised for the first time that I longed to be … a painter!
Discovering intuitive painting
Through a series of synchronicities, on 25 January 2015, I discovered the wonderful person that I consider to be my intuitive painting mentor, American artist Flora Bowley.
With acrylic paint and Flora’s gentle guidance, I found the right medium to finally express myself in “full colour”!
Painting and healing
My art and my healing journey have been truly connected. In 2017, I went through a depressive episode which was critical in my personal and artistic development.
I have written about what painting has meant to me at a much deeper level on my personal healing journey on my blog post Painting and Healing. You can read it here.
Maturing as an artist
Since 2018, I’ve been sharing more of my artistic endeavours through my Atelier monthly newsletter.
I participated in a foundation’s programme for under-privileged children, giving a couple of workshops in a suburb of Hamburg to teenage children.
In 2019, I performed an improvised voice, movement and musical performance around 10 of my paintings. This was the culmination of my healing journey to date.
Sharing my gift
In 2019, I also started to teach intuitive painting workshops and initiated an Artist’s Way circle in my atelier in Hamburg which keeps on going with a small group of women artists.
In 2020, in times of COVID-19, at a friend’s request, I organised creative gatherings virtually to bring together budding artists for a bit of creative fun on a weekly basis.
The journey continues
In 2021, I exhibited in Venice, realising a dream of participating in an international group exhibition and started giving in-person workshops in my atelier, respecting the COVID-19 restrictions.
In 2022, I created several paintings for the stage and I was able to continue giving intimate workshops at my studio. I was trusted with three commissions which filled my heart with joy. I also participated in a couple of group exhibitions in Hamburg, leading to more paintings finding homes in Germany and abroas.
Since 2023, my atelier welcomes creatives for improvisation and theatre workshops. I turned 50 in April and have dreams of performance and art projects. I am keeping the creative fire burning inside and spreading further… always feeling the light!