Costing €250 and definitely not wanting to miss out on this incredible opportunity I decided to be brave and do something I’ve never done before..

I went onto my Facebook page and I put together a Personal fundraiser campaign (‘Go Fund Me’ Campaign). This is something I would never even have dreamt of doing in the past, but having gone through a huge shift in who I am, my mindset, what I want in life, why I do what I do and what my true aspirations are. I now have the courage, determination and conviction to do what I need to do to make what I desire a reality. I explained the situation I was in and simply said if you can and would like to support me and donate to raise the funds for my fee I would be so very grateful. It’s only been active since late last night/early this morning, it’s now 11.39 am and I have raised £57 of the target of £250!! I’m blown away with the success so far and feel so very grateful and appreciative of all the support, shares and donations I’ve received already!!

Facebook fundraiser describes my ‘Go Fund Me’ appeal as below..

‘I’ve been contacted by the curator on M.A.D.S International Contemporary Gallery in Milan, Italy! Offering an incredible opportunity to exhibit in the ‘Phìlo-Poèm’ Exhibition - 21/5/21-31/5/21

This unique opportunity would not only showcase my work internationally, but the fee for exhibiting covers the cost of publication, advertising, customised online promotion (including on curators pages), photo & video reportage of the event, posts, stories, featured stories, a personal section dedicated to each artist on the official website (with personal link), artwork analysis, written critical review, curatorship for artwork, confinement of ‘Diploma Honorrificus of Participation’, catalogue of exhibition, team of multilingual qualified professionals at your service to assist, advice, promote, you and your artwork, assisting you until the final sale (with no commission fee).
Team of professionals-webmaster, graphic, photographers, art curators, art director, commercial director, communications manager, mediators, advisors, dealers, seekers.
Unfortunately, due to illness I’ve had to use my savings on rent and bills, so if you are willing to support me and able to donate even £1 towards my exhibition fee of €250 I would be so very grateful!
It’s such a huge opportunity, I thought I’ve just got to at least try to raise the funds to exhibit.
Check it out here:
www.madsmilano.com
@madsmilano’

Throughout my life so far two things have had a profound impact on me and my life as I once knew it. Developing neurological conditions hemicrania continua and fibromyalgia and discovering Art as a means of therapeutic expression, catharsis, meditation and cognitive therapy during my recovery periods following neurological attacks. This is a selection of some of my therapeutic artwork from recovery periods when I could only express my experiences through my art, but later was able to reflect and articulate them also.

I absolutely adore intense vibrant colour! I’m developing a series at the moment called ‘Fantasy Land’ it’s super colourful, full of intense, vibrant colour explorations, somewhat abstract/surreal but I tend to describe it as contemporary expressionism as it’s my escape from reality and interestingly parallel to this I have my ‘Artists Diary’ where I bare my soul with my raw truth and pure emotions. ‘Fantasy Land’ appeared almost from nowhere, it was an escapism from the darkness I was submerged in, a place I could go to, where there were no rules, where the subconscious creativity took over and the process of creating without intention or planning was autumnal. I didn’t need to think, I was taken away in a state of meditation where nothing else existed but the creative realm I was immersed in.

I see things reveal themselves within the colours and draw into them with no real preconceived composition or subject. I have loose sub categories such as animals, hummingbirds, floral, elephants, etc for inspiration and because they are all things which I love and in my ‘Fantasy Land’ I want it to be full of love and happy imagery and joy. My aim is to develop the watercolour series to large scale canvases using alcohol inks to create similar effects as the watercolour paintings but hopefully more vibrant and even more intriguing with the bleeding and blending of colours and textures and intricacies I’m able to create with a larger scale. Surreal in what appears to me in the imagery I see within the colour explosions I create, expressive in my cathartic process of creation. Hopefully forming a stunning realm of ‘Fantasy’ and escapism not only for me but for the viewer also.