How I Found My Way Back to Art (Between School Runs & Real Life)
If you’d told me a few years ago that I’d be painting again, I probably would’ve laughed and asked, “When?”
Between looking after my 4-year old three days a week and doing the endless school runs and activities for my 8-year-old, life already felt full.
And yet… here I am — making time (in the smallest, most imperfect windows) to create again.
Getting away from the corporate world and painting in nature has become a part of my week that I treasure — something I’m genuinely grateful for.
Art Was Always There — I Just Pressed Pause
I’ve painted on and off for years.
Before becoming an online designer, before agency life, before moving from New Zealand to Australia almost 18 years ago — art was simply something I loved.
But like a lot of people, life got busy, and painting slipped quietly into the background. I never stopped being creative, but the part of me that painted took a long, unplanned break.
Then One Day… Something Shifted
A few months ago, after being made redundant, I finally had this rare pause — a moment to actually ask myself:
“If I could choose anything… what would I want to be doing?”
And the answer came instantly:
I want to paint again.
Not full-time.
Not dramatically.
Just enough to quietly make space for creativity again.
Finding Time in the Cracks of Real Life
People often imagine artists with long, quiet mornings and sun-lit studios.
Meanwhile, I’m painting:
between school drop-offs and pick-ups
on the two days I’m not looking after Sage my 4-year old
after the gym, when I can squeeze in an hour before the next thing starts
It’s not glamorous — but it works.
And I’m learning that painting doesn’t have to happen perfectly — it just has to happen when it can.
What Painting Is Giving Me Again
Coming back to art has been grounding.
It’s slow, peaceful, absorbing — the opposite of the busy digital world I worked in for years. It reminds me that I’m more than the to-do lists and routines, and that I still get to grow and change in this season of life.
It’s become:
a place to breathe
a way to reconnect with the version of me before motherhood
a way to grow into who I’m becoming now
And whenever someone connects with a piece I share online, it makes those squeezed-in painting sessions feel completely worth it.
Where This Journey Is Heading
I’m not rushing it. I’m letting this evolve naturally.
I’m painting a little each week, building a small collection, and sharing the process as I go.
I don’t have a big master plan yet — just the joy of creating again and the curiosity of seeing where it leads.
But if you’re here reading this… thank you for being part of it.