I have always been interested in drawing and now retirement allows me the time to do this.
To get to where I am was all due to attending an Art Retreat at Angus Waters hosted by Jacqueline Hill (artist teacher) and then by joining in to the Anytime learning program.
I am now able to show the skills I have mastered through this exhibition.

Hello! I’ve always been creative and love to make things.
Painting is a new-ish hobby for me, having only been practicing more often over the last two years.
I enjoy painting most with watercolours, with the subject usually being an animal or flowers and foliage.
Occasionally I have a go at acrylics or oils; but I enjoy the way watercolours mingle and do their own thing.

I have been taking classes with Jacqueline Hill over a period of 4 years. Since retirement from a career in music and teacher education, I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring creative and expressive art making. Through the classes, I found much more satisfaction in art and I particularly enjoy working in acrylic and pastels. I have also explored print making as I like the strong lines and stylised designs of this medium.

When I was in primary school, the art teacher that I had thought art was a waste of time. For the last 67 years, all I’ve done is just looked around. But in the last year, I’ve seen the colours. It’s just amazing.

Currently in third year of art classes.

Art is the most flexible bright boundless expression for my enthusiasm. It builds my creativity, expands my worldview and opens my heart to new possibilities. I invest in being a lifelong learner, this art is the culmination of each step of exploration as I journey along the way.

After a long and busy career in Midwifery, I’m now adjusting to retirement and learning new skills in various art mediums. Still a beginner but enjoying the process.
When not painting, my days are filled with family, gardening, and time away in our caravan.

I have always enjoyed creative activities and working with my hands. I have enjoyed sewing clothes, quilt making, crocheting, cooking and gardening. As a primary school teacher in the Early Years I made a special effort to ensure there was provision in our busy weeks for painting, drawing or creative activities. I displayed every child’s work and there was a lot of colour and joy in every display. I promised myself I would take art classes when I had more time. I dabbled in a number short art courses and then I met Jacqueline in the online Paint a Wren watercolour challenge. That was the start of my journey with Art at Heart.

Last year I attended a Learn to Draw class with Jacqui and enjoyed it so much I have attended other classes.

Lifelong appreciation of Art in all its forms but only recently became a beginner artist, undertaking Zen and the Art of Art May 2022 Watercolor 5 Day Challenge with Jacqueline Hill and using her own work, ‘Purple Crowned Boy’ as the Subject. After the Challenge I wanted to revisit the process, taking time to work on proportion and technique, utilising better quality paints and paper. The result is this submission, ‘Fairy Wren’, my second attempt at painting and watercolor, which was an absolute joy. I am so looking forward to learning & painting more art, and hopefully producing many more pieces in various different media.

Leina is fascinated by the creative process who enjoys exploring and creating art from her imagination and life.

Pamela resides in the Southern Okanagan region of British Columbia, Canada. She found painting as an outlet for her grief when she picked up a paint brush for the first time in the spring of 2021 and started with acrylic paints on canvas. Pamela experienced such peace while painting and found it to be a perfect form of meditation which helped her to find solutions to thoughts as she wasn’t focused on them but on painting. This led Pamela to want to learn more about painting and to learn to draw her own subjects which is how she found Jacqueline Hill and decided to try watercolour too. Pamela’s motto now is “Painting is My Drug!”

I’ve always been a wanna-be artist, but I’ve never believed in myself nor had the skill. Learning with Jacqui has been fun and I have finally started my journey to be creative.

I have always liked to sketch things, especially flowers, since I was a young girl!
I met Jacqui at one of her amazing exhibitions, where she really inspired me to explore my creative side & put some miles in the brush! P.S. Her favourite saying! I’ve learnt so much since my very first class and enjoy learning new ways to nurture my love for drawing & painting!

I began my artist journey in late 2021 when I enrolled in Learn to Paint a Wren in Watercolour. Since that challenge I now travel the Beginner Pathway already completing Learn Watercolour and Learn to Draw. At present, I am part way through Learn Acrylic. I consider myself someone who loves to learn and challenge myself, especially through new activities. Painting brings me much joy, satisfaction and a sense of achievement. It is a time for me to nurture my inner self by encouraging my own creativity.

It’s such a joy to watch all the students grow not only in their art skill but also in their confidence. Many of the Fledgling 2022 artists have never participated in an exhibition before and they’ve all been so brave to trust us with hanging their artworks. This exhibition would not be the same if even one artwork in this collection were missing; not a single wall fails to bring a smile to my face.