Lagoon with reeds
Hello, my name is Cathy Noble and I’m a British artist in my late sixties, who is in remission from ‘mental health’ issues. I feel really well these days and I am tapering off psychiatric drugs very slowly, with the consent of my doctor. Because I am now much less sedated than before, I am able to paint again and concentrate well enough to produce some decent artworks. The picture you see here is called ‘Lagoon with Reeds’ and it is mixed media using marker pens, black drawing pen, and acrylic paint applied with a palette knife. It is based on a photo provided by my Workers Education Association (WEA) art tutor.
I won school prize for art when I was in the 6th form back in the 1970’s and then went on to study Fine Art at degree level in Manchester UK, but most of my adult life has been blighted by episodes of illness and long years of enforced high doses of psychiatric drugs, so my art skills and pleasure in creating were lost during all that time.
It is an absolute joy to be almost free of meds now and to have regained my interest in creating art as a result. Since my husband died in 2014 I have studied art in face to face and online classes with Cambridge Community Arts (CCA), University of The Third Age Cambridge (U3AC) and Workers Education Association (WEA). Only U3AC charged – I was eligible for free classes from both the CCA and WEA. I thoroughly enjoy all the classes, also I do lots of art homework and projects at home as I’m retired so I have enough time to work on them without rushing.
Since I’ve been creating art again in my later life, my confidence has grown enormously, and I feel I’ve been given a second chance at life. I’ve sold quite a few pieces and I have met and mixed with lots of friendly new people at the various venues I have gone to in order to exhibit and sell. Even the zoom art courses I do from home are sociable – the tutor encourages learners to chat to each other during lessons and some learners have become online friends.
My latest venture is becoming a member of Cambridge Open Studios. I will be turning my living room into an art studio and will be opening up my flat to the public during all four weekends of July so they can buy my work as part of the COS scheme. The money I might make from selling should cover all my costs of art materials, taxi fares to venues, commission fees, stall hire, and various other expenses my art hobby has incurred during the last few years. I keep an accurate record of all profits and expenses on a spreadsheet as proof of my annual income.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy seeing my artwork and if you’d like to see more of it please go to www.facebook.com/catherinenoble6 or www.instagram.com/cathynobleart/ . I’m adding new works most weeks so do follow me by all means.
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Mad in the UK hosts blogs by a diverse group of writers. The opinions expressed are the writers’ own.