Then, during the pandemic, life shifted. I had to move house twice, and my work all but disappeared. When my godmother passed away—my last living link to my parents—something quiet but powerful changed in me. I began to listen more closely: to the world around me, to birdsong, to the rhythms of the seasons. I returned to painting, not just as an expression of art, but as a way of being present.

The birds I paint—and the circular symbols that often accompany them—are rooted in this sense of connection. They’re invitations into the mystery, reminders of life’s cycles, of presence, and of something greater moving through it all.

I hope my work offers a moment of stillness, a breath, and a sense of being part of something both wild and sacred.