麻豆传媒映画

Cath and Ian Wilson, with son Joshua, moved from Leicester, UK to Moissac in Tarn-et-Garonne in 2002. Cath registered her diploma as theatre nurse in France, and Ian, who had been an IT consultant, re-trained as an equine dentist. 

Cath is now re-training to become an EFL (English as a foreign language) teacher.

Alongside this, she makes time for her art 鈥� an interest she acquired 10 years ago when she was gifted some brushes and paints.

"I just did it, like that,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 use acrylic paints and pastels and sometimes a mix of the two. I paint mainly horses but also some other animals. I don't do still life, or landscapes. I only paint humans if they are on horseback.鈥�

While Cath does sometimes take some commissions, she much prefers 鈥渏ust painting what I feel like鈥�.

She explains: 鈥淧ainting for someone else is too much pressure. They always want things to be done in a few weeks.

鈥淚 like doing pet portraits which include the whole animal, not just a disembodied head. 

鈥淚 mainly just give them away as presents, although I do sell a few. But I don't want to make a living from it because then some of the enjoyment goes out of it.

Her natural talent is obvious to anyone looking at her work, but Cath鈥檚 creativity resonates on a deeper level too.

"I get weird sensations when I paint sometimes. Certain animals really affect me emotionally. I remember a black Labrador I did from a bad photo and the owners' descriptions, because he was dead by then. As I painted it, however, I had the feeling he was watching me, and when I gave the owners the finished picture, they said it was exactly how he used to look at them.鈥�

Cath is entirely self-taught, and warns other wannabe artists against watching too many instructional videos online (see box) when they first start.

"I had never had a lesson, never followed a YouTube video or anything. Then last year I did three lessons at a tiny art club run by a woman called Amanda, who is a fabulous artist.

鈥淭he club meets once a month and we just paint for a couple of hours. Amanda has really helped me refine my technique and try new things.鈥�

The club is a 90-minute drive away from Cath in Monpazier (Dordogne), but worth the effort for the opportunity to socialise with like-minded creatives. She says it attracts a mixture of local 麻豆传媒映画 as well as American, Dutch and British expatriates, and is an informal affair in someone鈥檚 house, rather than being run by an association. 

Despite her progress, Cath says she is still rarely blown away by her paintings.

"People say they're amazed by my work, but half the time I turn finished paintings to the wall and never look at them again. 

鈥淚 have only really loved a couple of things, but apparently that's quite common."

Having lived in France for 23 years now, Cath finds it difficult to draw direct comparisons between how amateur artists are perceived in the UK in contrast to her new home in France, but has noted that professional artists in France tend not to take themselves too seriously. 

However, she agreed that there are probably more opportunities for exhibiting art in France, even in rural areas. She is currently holding an exhibition in her town, and a local bar is taking 鈥渁s much work as I can produce鈥�.

Tips for kickstarting fresh life as an artist in a new community

• Find a quiet little art club where there's no judgement. 
• Do what you feel like doing. Don't be pressured into anything else.
• People who watch too many YouTube videos can lose the soul of the painting because they learn to do the brushstrokes but not how to express themselves. I do patches of detail, and sometimes I don't even sketch out the finished thing. But everyone is different and their work comes out in different ways.
• Art is quite psychological: you have to be prepared to let go, let things come and say 鈥渢his is me鈥�. I paint really, really quickly and Joshua, my son, can tell my mood by what comes out on the canvas.
• Train your nearest and dearest not to disturb you when you are painting.
• Painting to sell produces very different work from what comes from the imagination.
• Experiment with different media, watercolours, acrylics, oils, pencils, crayons, everything until you find what you enjoy. 
• There is no wrong or right way to do it. If you go on a four-day painting course you'll be exhausted. Also, painting weekends are expensive and tend to be limited in scope: only still life, only oils. It's better to begin with a single session. 
• Sketching with a pencil and a rubber is a great way to start. 
• After that, get the cheapest paint, brushes and paper and play.