I have been creating art for as long as I can remember. It has always been an essential part of me. After a little detour in my early adult life where I tried to do a degree in computer science(!!) my health started to decline and I was lost. I got back into art through photography. I started taking photographs of my new kitten and soon I couldn’t go any where without a camera. I completed my degree in photography 2012 at the University of the West of England. Unfortunately, my health was dealt another blow so any chance at a photography career was over before it started.
I began drawing near the end of my degree. It started with some a few doodles of my cats and very soon developed into Doodlecats, the business I have been running since 2011. It turns out people really like cats! I took my obsession with cats and being creative and have had the best time drawing cats and creating products with my art on.
In 2019 I developed a new special interest in Celtic knot work. I enjoyed getting lost in patterns and colour. During lockdown I was drawing new knots every day and they were getting more and more intricate. Looking back, it was clearly a way to help distract from everything that was going on in the world. It’s hard to think of much else when drawing intricate designs. I see it as a form of mindfulness.
Times have been more difficult recently, as I developed nerve damage that affected my hands. Even with two spine surgeries in 2024 and 2025, I am unable to hold a pencil/stylus without pain. I can only manage one or two Doodlecats drawings a week, far from what I used to be able to do. I spent a long time wishing for another way to create but everything I tried caused me pain. That was, until early 2026 when I tried finger painting on my phone. I never expected great results, just a bit of fun. I surprised myself very quickly with what I was capable of. I have since got an iPad mini so I can create art in bed by only moving a finger. All my finger paintings so far are of birds. They are all from photos that I have taken myself.
Being a disabled artist is difficult but not impossible. I will always find a way to create art, however my health tries to limit me. It is the making of the art, not the final result, that is important to me. There is something within me that just has to create. I will NEVER use AI in my art. Every single mark I make is by my own hand and that will not change. AI art will never have the soul that real human made art does.
I live in Portishead in the South-West of England with my wonderful husband Daz and our two cats Pixie and Molly. When I am not making art or resting, we are out looking at birds in the local area.
Beth
Artist.