I can’t remember a time in my life I haven’t painted. Like most children in preschool and early primary school we all drew and painted pictures in art class. But I was told (in my early years) the teachers and people around me could see talent in my pictures.

I was a healthy and very active child, busy playing football with my brother in the back yard after school, and on the weekends going fishing with my dad. Even though it was hard to keep still, I still had time to pick up a paint brush.

But when i was diagnosed with Dermatomyositis- a rare muscle disease0- 1995 at the age of 6, that passion for painting became my best friend. My world was turned upside down when i became sick, the life i was used to and the things I could do were no longer possible. Spending time in and out of hospital and being too unwell to play, drawing and painting has become my world. I am now well enough to sit up in my wheelchair and paint, and I have trained myself to paint with my right hand again. Even though now I have very limited movement in both arms and have to paint by moving the canvas board around and upside down for me to reach areas of the canvas, this does not stop me!

Painting is something I hold very dear to my heart. It doesn’t matter how hard times can get, my brush and paints will always be there, allowing me to escape into the world of the canvas and colours. It’s like reading a great book, escaping into a world with no limitations.

Art from the Margins are holding an exhibition of photography, film and art at the Bleeding Heart Gallery, 166 Ann Street, Brisbane from Thursday 9th May until Thursday 16th May.

The exhibition is open from 7:30am to 5pm daily (excluding weekends). Admission is free. For more details click here or visit www.artfromthemargins.org.au