Purpose
There's many reasons why I paint, so for anyone new to my page here's a little intro about me.
From a young age I loved to draw and paint, I got an 'A' grade in GCSE Art and started A-level Art & Design at sixth form, but never completed it as my family moved house to East Cambs and it was impossible to find the same courses in Cambridge. That meant starting full-time work at 18 years old. Through my first job I met my future wife Susie - we married when she was 19 and I 21 years old....22 years and two children later, we are still very happily married and living on the farm where she grew up and I first met her!
Along the way I trained as a Structural Draughtsman, gained an HND in Civil Engineering, and worked in various jobs in construction. In 2011 I worked as a Premises Manager for the National Trust at Wimpole Estate, but became ill with glandular fever in 2014, eventually being ill health dismissed in June 2015 with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME. With the help of Susie and our amazing son and daughter, I have been painting as a job for nearly a decade now. In reality I'm also the stay at home dad - Susie gained a teaching degree through all of this and is the main earner, and I will always do everything I can to help and support her to fulfil her ambitions and dreams over my wants. That's my purpose in life now, and I don't regret anything that's happened. I just wish I'd accepted i'm not going to be 'the man with a proper job' sooner, instead of fighting against it. Us men are taught that we have to be the breadwinner, the tough one, the provider. But it's okay not to be.
My worth isn't in how much money I make - it's in the lifts to school and ballet; in a clean and tidied home; in doing some shopping, walking the dog, sorting out the punctures on our son's bike, praying for and with my wife and kids; in the hugging, the talking, the listening. I now realise I wouldn't want it any other way.
Hi, I'm Jamie, and to quote L.S. Lowry 'I'm a man who paints. Nothing more, nothing less'.
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