"If I managed that... what else might I be capable of? And when does Confidence arrive?"

I remember feeling completely out of my comfort zone when I wrote my first blog about sitting in Somerset with nothing more than a sketchbook, a pencil and a lot of self-doubt.

Not because sketching was difficult, but because I had quietly convinced myself that I wasn't someone who could simply sit and draw from life.

It's funny how our minds create these invisible boundaries.

"I can't."

"I'm not that sort of person."

"What if people watch me?"

Yet that afternoon became one of the most peaceful experiences I'd had in a long time. The fear I'd built up beforehand turned out to be far bigger than the reality.

At the time I thought that blog was about sketching and being out of my comfort zone…

Now I realise it wasn't.

It was about saying yes.

Since then, life seems to have continued presenting me with opportunities to stretch myself in ways I never expected.

First came the Instagram LIVE.

If you'd asked me a year ago whether I'd happily chat live on camera, I'd probably have laughed. Actually, I wouldn’t have believed I could.

For ages I convinced myself that Instagram LIVE wasn't for me, and that people weren't really interested in hearing what I had to say.

Yet when I finally pressed that button and went live with a friend, something unexpected happened.

It wasn't perfect.

I pressed the wrong buttons.

We laughed.

We figured it out together.

And afterwards I realised that all the fear had existed before I started. Once I was actually doing it, I simply enjoyed the connecting

Then there was karaoke in London.

Now this one surprised even me.

Standing in front of people singing isn't exactly somewhere I'd naturally choose to be!

Was I the best singer in the room?

Absolutely not.

Did it matter?

Not one bit.

Everyone was simply enjoying themselves.

No one was judging.

No one was waiting for perfection.

And then came something I never thought I'd do…

A close friend invited me to watch Lewis Capaldi in Hyde Park. Surrounded by over 60,000 people

Me, who has spent years avoiding huge crowds.

I  prefer smaller groups.

Painting evenings, me guiding everyone through their own painting experiences

Conversations over coffee.

The thought of standing shoulder to shoulder with tens of thousands of people would normally have been enough for me to politely decline.

Yet something made me say yes.

As Lewis walked onto the stage, I looked around at the sea of people.

Sixty thousand completely different lives.

Different jobs, stories, struggles and reasons for being in Hyde Park

Yet for those couple of hours every single person was singing the same words.

Laughing together.

Connected through music.

It reminded me of something I see every month at Canvas Club.

People arrive telling me...

"I'm not creative."

"I can't even draw a stick man."

"I haven't picked up a paintbrush since school."

Yet two hours later they're chatting with strangers, laughing at the happy accidents that happen with painting, encouraging each other and leaving with artwork they never believed they could create.

Yes, they leave with a painting.

But that's never really been the point.

They leave having quietly rewritten a story they've been telling themselves for years.

The story that says...

"I'm not artistic."

Because once you've done something you didn't think you could do, something changes.

Your brain starts asking a different question.

"If I managed that... what else might I be capable of?"

Looking back, I don't think these experiences have been separate events at all…

The sketchbook in Somerset.

The Instagram Live.

The karaoke

Standing amongst 60,000 Lewis Capaldi fans.

Each one has simply been another reminder that confidence doesn't arrive before we do something brave.

It arrives afterwards.

It's built by one tiny act of courage at a time.

And that's exactly why Canvas Club exists.

It is why you paint.

It is why you learn techniques.

It is why you go home with artwork you're proud of.

Because underneath the paint, something much more important is happening….

You're proving to yourself that the stories you've believed for years might not actually be true.

You might discover you're more creative than you thought.

More capable than you imagined.

And perhaps a little braver too.

This belief sits at the heart of everything I create, and it's the reason I've designed my very first Creative Reset Day this September.

It's not just a painting workshop.

It's a day to step away from the noise of everyday life.

A day to slow down.

To reconnect with yourself.

To discover what happens when you stop worrying about getting it "right" and simply allow yourself to create.

We'll spend time reflecting, experimenting with colour, painting, sharing lunch, enjoying coffee and cake, and giving ourselves something that so many of us rarely allow...

Permission to pause.

If you've been following my journey, you'll know Canvas Club has never really been about painting.

It's about saying yes to experiences that help us grow.

Perhaps this September is your turn.

Perhaps your first brave step isn't standing in front of thousands of people.

Perhaps it's simply walking into a beautiful studio, picking up a paintbrush, and discovering a side of yourself that's been waiting patiently all along.