Choosing What to Paint

I try not to let my Parkinson’s get involved in what I choose to paint (sometimes I regret that!) 

 

I’m not particularly creative so I look to other artists, primarily on YouTube, for inspiration.  (YouTube has a plethora of videos where people timelapse their painting or guide you from scratch to the finished article (some more, some less amateur-friendly!) and its great to see the techniques employed. 

 

Generally I spot something I like and have a go, which is why you’ll see quite a variety in the gallery.  All that said, I do know paintings with lots of fine detail will inevitably be more challenging with my shaking, but knowing that doesn’t stop me trying.

​

Michelle the Painter

I have to briefly mention Michelle Iglesias - Michelle the Painter - YouTube – whose YouTube channel I stumbled on and has been a source of great inspiration and fun.

 

Many of the paintings I’ve done are from her channel, which has a very great number of ‘paint along with Michelle' instructional videos.    Like me, she doesn’t take the process too seriously, and she’s a great coach. 

​

How I Paint

My Parkinson’s presents with one main symptom: a continual and significant tremor in my left side, which makes painting more challenging because I’m left-handed. 

 

When I started to paint, people would often automatically assume I was using my right hand, but I do use my left wherever I can.  Sometimes it’s for larger blocks of colour, of where a rubbing technique is desired, or if my Parkinson’s is behaving itself I can sometimes tackle more detailed work.