Its in the blood

People often ask me how long I've been an artist and are usually surprised when I say "Always". I think they expect I'll say "Oh, only the last year or so". But I was born an artist. We all are. We all want to paint as very young children - brightly colourful drawings of houses, mummy and daddy, brothers and sisters, trees, dogs and cats, on large expressive sheets of paper where we can swish the paint around and get thoroughly messy. And we creatively scrawl on the walls, caveman fashion, to the annoyance of our house-proud parents who shout and scrub it off; its within us to create, and be artistically expressive. The only difference between the majority of the rest of the world and me is that I never stopped. I've always painted and drawn things. As a child I painted and drew houses and people and animals. As a teenager I painted weird and wonderful surreal fantasy paintings with a macabre edge to them, that used to perplex most of the adults who viewed them. Then as I reached adulthood, I progressed, and went away from the weird fantasy drawings and perhaps lost some of my creativity because I started to paint the pictures I thought other people wanted. I painted family dogs and cats, other peoples houses, flowers, other peoples favourite scenes, and put the fantasy pictures to one side. I was trying to please, but didn't please myself, or my creative side.

But now, as I've gown older again, I've progressed further and become what I want to be, I've found my creativity again, I'm painting the pictures that please and excite me - the fantasy pictures, whether its fantasy landscapes, even of "normal" scenes when I add interest with splatter or pour-on paint, or highlights of bright sunshine or deep purple shadows. Or fantasy pictures of wildlife - the ferocious tigers or prancing horses, or purely fantastical creatures like glistening mermaids, magical unicorns, glowing angels and fiercesome dragons. Or, best of all, the erotic fantasy paintings, where I depict someone in the image they want for themselves. Their creation of their own fantasy - making them feel sexy, tantalising, erotic and ultimately desirable.

I wonder what I'll be painting should I live to old age. Will it be fluffy kittens and landscapes. Somehow....... I doubt it.