About Me
All You Need Is Courage
If you have passion, you can fulfil your dreams of becoming a professional artist. You can see your art in galleries, you can share your heart with the world.
I share my story to show you that with courage and determination, anything is possible. I pushed through difficult times, personally and professionally, to become an award-winning artist, with paintings exhibited in prestigious galleries around the globe.
If I can, so can you. All you need is a bit of courage!
Just a Skinny Girl Afraid of Big Dreams
I grew up in the Soviet Union – just a skinny, unattractive little girl in a large family.
When Lithuania became free, it was a massive shock to the people. For my family, it was a tragedy. We went from having a farm full of chickens, cows and rabbits and plenty of land for crops to having to sell everything just to survive.
My siblings and I had to grow up fast. It was time to start contributing so our family could get by.
So while deep inside I longed to paint, to become an artist one day, the world around me seemed to shout loud and clear: “You can’t make bread from art.”
But of course, we needed bread.
The Early Days
While neighbourhood children met up and played outside, I had to go to the woods with my sisters and brother to collect berries and mushrooms to sell to help our family. While my friends went swimming in the lake, I had to go, with a heavy heart, to our allotment. It was my muddy job to hand-weed around our fruit and vegetables to keep them alive and growing, so we had fresh food on our table.
Only then could I play outside until the stars came out. We roamed the fields, braiding the sweet-smelling grass like hair and building sandcastles. When darkness fell, we’d make sizzling campfires, cook potatoes, tell spooky stories, and draw shapes in the sky with sticks that burned red-hot and bright.
We’d return home to our waiting parents, black soot on our tired but happy faces.
We were trapped, but somehow still free.
My body and mind were in the present, but my spirit and creativity wandered wild. And I dreamed of better things.
Then there was art.
While friends were paying to go to art classes after school, I had to sneak my way in as we couldn’t afford any classes.
I knew it wasn’t right, but I did it anyway because my passion for painting was stronger than my feeling of embarrassment.
At least the teacher saw potential in me. She was kind to help me, to give me tools and guidance. She accepted me and that’s all I needed at that time.
The Difference That Struggles Make
Did those early days of struggles make an impact on who I am today? You bet they did!
Now I know every mushroom in the forest. Those wild days in nature fuelled my creativity and imagination until I was nearly bursting.
I am not afraid to dedicate time and effort to get perfect results. I don’t give up easily – no not at all! I trust the process, embrace the challenge and continue to grow.
And I believe in human kindness. I genuinely want to help other artists like you, just like that teacher stretched out her hand to me. That friendly hand that made all the difference.
In the Present...
Of course, the magic didn’t happen straight away – sometimes magic takes time. And sometimes we grow up wrongly believing we can’t earn a living from our passion.
So while I’ve always been painting in some form (I drew square apples instead of round ones!) for more than 20 years, it’s only since motherhood that I decided to follow my dreams.
Because I want my little boy to know he can follow his too – whatever they are.
Now, I’m a full-time artist, specialising in acrylic pouring. I live in Saxmundham, England, with my husband, 3-year-old son and three four-legged friends. When I am not running workshops or in my studio painting, I can be found outdoors showing my son the magic of nature.
• I make a wonderful living from my art. That little girl has come to realise how big her life really is.
• I exhibit my award-winning acrylic pouring art around the globe in places like New York, Shanghai, Rome, France, and London.
• I have been featured in local and national magazines like Murze, Suffolk Magazine, Suffolk Norfolk Life, About Fram, and Artfix New York.
• I volunteer for the local Arts Community as art curator, to help bring local artists together by giving them guidance and support in this quickly changing world.
And best of all, I teach creative souls like you to reach your full, amazing potential. I want you to feel inspired, supported and taken seriously as an artist. Because I know how it feels to be undervalued and I know how it feels to be valued. It’s up to us which one we choose.
Click below to embrace your future as a successful artist.
Together, I promise, we can make it the start of magical things.
