Rebecca Westaway

My interest in art was sparked at an early age when, as a child back in the 70s, I began watching the ITV television series Paint Along With Nancy. I was fascinated by these 30-minute programmes.

Nancy's unusual method of painting and her amusing, unscripted commentaries really appealed to me. Her colour mixing tips were easy to follow. Nancy didn't refer to colour theory per se. I never heard her mention primary or secondary colours; her colour mixing advice to what was. I imagine, essentially the 'American housewife; was more akin to a Jamie Oliver recipe. Nancy taught me, and I am sure many other aspiring artists, the basics of composition and perspective. To this day, it's Nancy's teaching that comes to mind.

I took a very different life path from the one I had imagined. I lived abroad for 25 years, first in Paris, France and then Athens, Greece - before returning to Manchester, England.

I work freelance, using my creativity to produce various digital resources for businesses.

While living in Paris, I took night school art classes with the Atelier des Beaux-Arts. Some years later, after moving to Athens, I joined a local painting workshop. The teacher was incredible. He taught me to explore so many facets of art, from collage to field drawing.

I've been home for about seven years but never joined any local classes. I haven't painted or drawn seriously for a very long time.

Instead, I've concentrated on exploring digital art and photography.

The pandemic and almost two years of quasi-isolation have taken their toll. I feel somewhat detached from real life and normality. Seeing my parents ageing makes me terrified of being alone in the world.

I knew I needed to start looking after myself and my fluctuating mental health. I'm so focused on delivering for others that I have an unfortunate tendency to forget myself and my needs).

So in December 2021, I joined Domestika after seeing a course on mindfulness. What better place to rekindle my passion than through daily mindful practice with a Kate Sutton who lives, like me, in the North of England