For 15 years I didn’t pick up a paintbrush. I was very lost, broken and frightened for a long time. Then one day, whilst living in Berlin, the idea of face painting came to me, seemingly out of nowhere. It felt like a huge risk but I bought some paints and very slowly bookings started coming in. I moved back to England and it kind of snowballed, despite intending to let it drop and move onto different things. People kept suggesting I progress to body painting but it just didn’t feel like the right fit for me.What I really wanted to do was create art that didn’t wash off, but fear told me I wasn’t capable. Self-doubt has always been, for me, more of a deafening white noise than a whisper, paralysing me into doing nothing. And so for years I literally did nothing.
Then a couple of years ago I started painting canvasses, but only really copying popular characters. I’d always copied stuff as a child so it felt like the beginning again, but with no vision of where it could go and no confidence about how I could develop. Whilst visiting a dear friend’s exhibition I experienced what felt like utter defeat, the voices in my head screaming “You will never do this”. I think she read my mind, or my tears, because at that moment she held my hand and said out loud, “You CAN do this Olivia”.
Of course I didn’t believe her, but a couple of months later I produced this. My first truly original painting. THE MUSHROOM FAIRY. who sits on my mantelpiece as a daily reminder that self-doubt is bulls**t. I literally love her and what she represents to me, and whilst I have no intention of ever parting with the original, today I had some prints done that ARE for sale. They are available to buy now, and in the future from my soon-to-be-launched Etsy shop. Today is a good day. There were tears, but today they were just of gratitude. ❤
PRINTS AVAILABLE
*Logo is for internet purposes only and not on the prints. Each print will be individually signed.*
8×12″ – £11 (+p&p)
12×18″ – £17 (+p&p)
16×24″ – £26 (+p&p)
Face Painting Leicester to London 