Living with a serious illness sucks, but I have to make the most of it. I am too unwell to work, at least for the foreseeable future anyway; never say never, though. Filling my time, therefore, can be a challenge. I need to try and keep my brain occupied, but have to battle fatigue and concentration problems.

I have taken up painting as a new hobby, but as I can’t afford, or have room for canvas and paints in my tiny little home, I have taken up digital painting on the laptop using Corel Painter 2016. It’s not cheap, but boy, was it worth the money. I am sure I would have spent the equivalent in paints and canvas over time.

What a fantastic piece of software! It has hundreds of brush types in dozens of different mediums. It has taken me months of experimenting to get the hang of it. If you are interested in taking up digital painting, I cannot recommend it enough. Tip – they have regular sales with significant discounts – buy it then!

It is filling a large hole in my time; I spend most of the morning painting. For someone who finds it hard to concentrate on things like books and tv programmes, it is unbelievable how much I can do. On those long sleepless nights, painting is also perfect for relaxing me and taking away the anxiety of not being able to sleep. 

The feeling of satisfaction when my creation is complete is worth the effort. It has done wonders for my confidence and mental wellbeing. Although I a loving painting landscapes from reference photos, one of my biggest achievements was painting a picture of my cat, Charlie. There is a photo of him on my ‘About’ page for comparison.

If you are thinking about it, go for it! Here are a couple of my landscape efforts: