My Gallery

'Devil's Saddle'

40 x 60 cm

Acrylic on canvas

A serious attempt at a seascape. I'm lovin' it!

My Gallery

'Imagine I, II & III'

20 x 30 cm

Acrylic on canvas

Again playing with paint on yet another vision. Not just any old notes! This photo does them no justice.

My Gallery

'With Love from Angels'

18 x 24 cm

Acrylic on canvas

This is one of my very first paintings. Playing with the paint and the vision in my head! Wasn't too happy when the varnish changed the colour of the wings. The colours were more subtle.

Lost but found...

An intro to where I've been & where I'm at... NOW

Living in Italy as a black woman HAD been a blatant shock to the system. Born and raised in the UK I was never exposed to stares and whispers! So when I decided to follow hubby out to his country I thought nothing of it. I was and still am in love so why not?!

A year and a half had past and I totally lost my zest! 'Fun loving Sophie' wasn't so fun loving anymore. There is a stigma out here that sticks to black women that they're all prostitutes. While standing 2 feet from my own gateway a young man in his friends car drove past hollerin' "Quanto?"! (How much?) Thank God our baby daughter was too young to understand.

From January 08 I had been feeling like I was having an out of body experience. My heart and my head just wanted to head back to the UK. Trapped in endless thoughts and sleepless nights about how and when we were gonna get our family back to a society where we can feel free to walk the streets. Though it's still surreal in the UK to see a black woman with a white (beautifully olive skinned) man.

The bubbles had gone flat in my whole character. I lost myself and needed to find me again! Little did I know the journey I was about to take would bring me right back to me... the REAL ME! I'd been faking it for years playing the joker, the party goer, the hard core raver. Ever popular with... EVERYBODY!

EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON: My being here in Italy has been the time out that I very much needed. It's given me time for my family and more importantly time for myself! A time to grow. A time to breath...

The sleeping artist in me has finally risen! As a kid I used to draw things, anything all the time. Stare into space and capture detail and just draw, I even started my own fashion line! I remember when my mum bought me my first watercolour set I was about 10 or 11. To no surprise I was quite good but became blocked due to life throwing it's lessons and I lost interest in doing anything serious.

Once again Mummy Dearest bought me another paint set for my birthday this year. This time a whole acrylic artist's set with a box easel and quality brushes!!! (Kid in a sweet shop or what??? Should see me in an art and craft shop!!!) Took me about 4 weeks to eventually touch it, and when I did something only I can describe as magical yet spiritual happened! What a buzz! No really... I was buzzin'! It felt so natural! So me.

While on a brief visit to the UK, hubby and I started to plan our move back as we were both feeling so miserable and the living in constant negative energy was taking it's toll on our relationship. But, now that we're here, it's started to feel more and more like home. Maybe the break was exactly what we needed. A quick recharge and we're both walking around as carefree as we were in London! All I want to do is paint and hubby is very supportive! He's gonna get out of his 'dangerous, no safety measure labourer' job where everyone knows best and starts an argument for no particular reason, (it's in the blood!) We're gonna start something of our very own and go ahead with our plans for the future!

It's yet another risk but hey... what's a life without them?!

xXXx